Paradise
by the dreamer
Summary: After the insistence of her friends and colleagues, Sakura- who has always been an indoor type of girl -goes on a much needed vacation. But while alone on her trip, her otherwise normal and simple way of life is thrown out of balance when she inadvertently runs into an escaped convict.
1. You thief!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Aloha everyone! I'm back!

Don't be misled by my greeting, I'm not in Hawaii... but that should give you a hint as to what this new story of mine is about. (Maybe.)

This is a new story I came up with a week ago and like my story **Remember** I managed to write a whole lot in a short period of time. I'm not finished with it yet but I'm halfway done so I decided to start uploading the story here on FFN... even if I promised never to upload anything anymore unless I've actually finished it. Oh well, I'm a breaker of promises.

 _*Prostrates self*_ (I actually typed "Castrates self" there. WTF. But then I was like- "Wait... that's not right?" My vocabulary is failing me!)

My weirdness aside, I hope you enjoy this!

* * *

" _Where are you now?"_

With a sigh, she opened one eye to take a peek outside. All she could see was blue, blue, and… more blue.

"No clue."

" _You don't sound enthusiastic."_

She had to try and not scoff at this obvious statement.

"I'm not exactly here _willingly_ now am I?"

" _Oh come on, don't be like that. It's in your best interest. You've never been out of the country before… rather, have you even ever been outside of Tokyo until now?"_

She retained her silence at this and in return a chuckle came through the earphones she was wearing.

" _This is for your own good Sakura. You're way too into your work. Though this might be a good thing, you also still need to get out a little. Even_ I _think this is good for you."_

Another sigh escaped her lips and she unconsciously pulled down the black bucket hat she was wearing over her honey brown tresses in hopes to shield her from the sun despite full protection from the rays she currently had.

"Still doesn't make sense why I came all the way here of all places and all alone too. It would've made more sense if they bought me a trip to Okinawa or something closer to home. Who sends their employees all the way to _South Korea_?!"

There was a hint of hysteria to her voice and a few of the other passengers turned to look in her direction.

Sakura nodded at them with an apologetic look before sinking further down her seat and bowing her head low.

This was a mistake, however, as a bout of nausea suddenly hit her to which she immediately sat back up and held her head as far over the open window as possible. When she felt the cool sea breeze hit her face, her lunch decidedly settled back down into her stomach.

Had she known she was susceptible to seasickness, she wouldn't have bothered to take a ferry to the damned island. Heck, she would have skipped visiting the place altogether.

Whoever said that this island was a "must-go" destination when in South Korea anyway?! Seoul should have already been sufficient enough.

Before she or her poor excuse of a best friend could say anymore to the other, a light tune started playing over the overhead speakers inside the cabin before a woman's pleasant voice reverberated loudly for everyone to hear.

" _Ladies and gentlemen, if you look to your left you'll see that we have arrived. The boat will be docking in approximately 20 minutes."_

Sakura stole her gaze from the window to look up at the nearest speaker before craning her neck to the opposite side. She was seated on the right side of the ferry and had fixed her gaze outside the window since her departure so all she saw since was the view of the water on the starboard side and nothing else. Now she was surprised with the large expanse of land so close by.

"Everyone, welcome to Jeju Island!"

* * *

 **Chapter One**

 _ **"You thief!"**_

* * *

" _Jeju Island's Hallasan Mountain is actually a dormant volcano. It is 1,950 meters above sea level. The last time the volcano erupted was-"_

Sakura turned off the commentary. Before arriving on the island, she had downloaded a podcast recording of supposed "interesting facts" about Jeju Island but really it didn't sound the least bit interesting to her.

"Now if you'll follow me, the trail to the…"

She glanced towards the large group of Chinese tourists who were walking down the path she was currently on. They were lead by an eager looking guide who was carrying a flag.

Inwardly, Sakura was half regretful she didn't pay for an official tour. She had come to the island feeling confident that all she needed was her cell phone, some decent internet connection and then she'll be all set. She still thought this was true but now she also realized how much of a pain it was having to search for every little thing compared to having someone just tell you everything.

Sighing (yet again), Sakura walked towards a nearby rock and tiredly sat herself there.

She hadn't exactly walked a great deal yet but she simply wasn't cut out for this. Physical labor was never her thing. She worked a desk job for heaven's sake. If extreme exercises- and yes, walking a long arduous trail does count as extreme in her book -were a prerequisite for her job, she never would have accepted the position offered to her by her company in the first place.

This was turning out to be one pain in the ass vacation. Though the entire trip was paid for by the company she works for, it seemed like a total waste especially for the likes of her. Also, she never had any real interest in traveling. If they had to spend that much on her, she would have opted to use the cash for something worthwhile, like a new set of clothes or a new computer for her home or something.

Sakura didn't know how long she spent sitting there but by the time she decided to finally move, there was no one else left around nearby.

At this point she would have liked to just ask someone for directions to the nearest worthwhile attraction but there wasn't a single soul within view.

Out of options now, Sakura pulled out her cell phone once again and started up a map online while beginning a casual stroll down the path.

"Let's see…" she muttered to herself, her head down and eyes focused on the screen whilst still walking forward. "What is this? A beach? A port?"

A small picture of what looked like waves of water was drawn on the screen and it wasn't too far from where she was currently at.

Frustrated that she didn't understand the Korean script, Sakura proceeded to walk down the path while attempting to search for translations to the text which was provided with the pictures.

This proved to be a mistake however since not ten steps later she ended up banging against someone… hard.

Sakura was knocked off her feet and ended up dropping her cell phone.

"Ow, ow, owwww…" she said in pain before raising her palms. She instinctively broke her fall using her palms and ended up grazing them on the asphalt ground.

Raising her palms to check on them, Sakura's eyes widened when she saw red seep through the gashes. It wasn't that severe, even she could tell, but it still wasn't a pretty sight.

She looked up at the person who she bumped into, intending to apologize since she wasn't paying attention but the moment her eyes landed on him, her words seemed to escape her.

It was a man, a large and terrifying looking man.

Though he wasn't standing, Sakura knew he was a good deal taller than her. She could also see the large muscles through his ill-fitting shirt and the long unkempt hair and beard that left little to be seen of his face made him look like some kind of vicious thug rather than a homeless person which one would normally assume basing on his scruffy appearance.

Sakura continued to silently stare at him, her mouth slightly agape and her eyes wide and unblinking.

He, however, seemed to be unfazed by her presence or by their collision just now as he was currently kneeling in front of her.

She watched him, still unable to say anything… that is until she noticed that he had only been kneeling for the sake of reaching out to Sakura's dropped cell phone.

This made her snap out of her stupor.

"Ah, thank you and sor-" she had one still slightly bloodied hand held out to him, intending to ask receive her cell phone which he already hand in his grasp but when he heard her speak, he turned an icy look towards her which effectively made her shut up again.

His gaze was intense. Sakura couldn't look back at him at all but she couldn't look away completely either, so she settled on staring at a spot on his hair covered jaw.

"Hey, don't you think that guy just now looked familiar?"

This nearby voice caught both of their attention and just when Sakura turned her head towards the side path the man had apparently come from, the man in question stood with a surprising swiftness before he started running away from Sakura and down the path.

"HAAA?!" Sakura was watching his retreating form in shock for a while before she finally thought about getting up. "HEY YOU! GIVE ME BACK MY CELL PHONE! YOU THIEF!"

* * *

 _Lucky again,_ he thought as he started pressing his fingers on the large screen of the cell phone.

The text was in Japanese. Luck was definitely on his side today. He managed to get this far _and_ he managed to get his hands on a cell phone from a Japanese tourist. Had he taken a Korean cell phone, then he'll definitely get caught before he could even make sense of how to use the damned thing. He was quite fluent with communicating in Korean speech but not so much when it comes to reading Hangul (Korean alphabet).

With quick fingers, he dialed the numbers he had already come to memorize while making his way down the path towards the nearest sea shore.

" _Hello?"_

"Where are you?"

" _Oh? You're using another number, is this still-"_

"Yes it's still me. Something came up, my partner got left behind. He has the other phone. Get ready to set sail," as he said this, he narrowed his eyes towards the waters. "I already see you from here. We'll leave as soon as I get there."

" _Do you want me to call your partner?"_

"There's no need. Another way out will be arranged for him later."

" _Aye, aye!"_

* * *

He pressed on the button before carefully placing the phone on the boat's dashboard. It looked quite out of place whilst everything else in the cockpit was quite old and even rusted in some areas.

"Sang-chul! He's close by, we're leaving soon!"

"Aye!" came his brother's voice from somewhere on the deck and Ji-woo started turning on levers to get the boat running.

It didn't take long.

Not 15 minutes later and they could hear the loud banging sounds of shoes hitting the old wooden pier where their boat was docked.

"Ah? Are you Mister Hiiragizawa?"

"Never mind that, are we ready to set sail?"

"Aye sir!"

"Good, let's get moving."

Ji-woo poked his head outside of the cabin to see their passenger and client.

"Good day to you Mister Hi-"

"Yes, yes," he interrupted without even looking at the captain as he got into the boat. "Where's the stuff he sent?"

"It's in the lower cabin sir, feel free to head on down and relax a little. The room is the second door to your left. We'll take care of taking you to where you need to be!" Ji-woo said joyfully, quite unfazed by the less than civil manner of speech of the younger man.

He jerked his head in a nod before making his way towards the lower confines of the old fishing boat.

"A bit uptight isn't he brother?" Sang-chul commented as he watched Syaoran disappear. He too was smiling and seemed unfazed by their new companion's lack of courtesy.

"That's city folk for you," the older brother said knowledgably. "Anyway, are we ready to set sail?"

"Yup! I can't wait to get to the-" he cut off as he heard the loud sounds of banging footsteps on the pier again.

Both brothers looked at each other before simultaneously turning towards the direction of the sound. A young woman who was clearly out of breath was heading towards them, half walking and half running. She was waving her arms in the air.

"Who is that?"

Ji-woo shrugged but nonetheless walked towards the edge of the boat just as the young woman panted to a stop a few feet away.

"That… _*gasp*_ …guy… _*gasp*_ …left… _*gasp*_ …me!"

Then her knees finally gave wave and she hit the wooden panels of the pier with a resounding thud.

She fainted.

At the sight of the girl collapsing, Sang-chul scrambled towards his brother.

"What happened to her?!"

"Looks like heat stroke," Ji-woo said before climbing out of the boat and quickly heading towards the girl. Indeed, her skin was incredibly flushed and she wasn't sweating. "Sang-chul, go get some water and ice!"

* * *

He turned towards the door of the small room when he heard a door banging open.

The sound of someone opening cabinets could be heard before he could hear the same person running back up to the deck.

Inwardly, he cursed. What were they doing? Why haven't they set sail yet? He even bothered to call them just so they could quickly depart as soon as he arrived.

Trying to calm himself, he proceeded to change out of his clothes and into the new ones from inside the bag he had found waiting inside the room. It had the letters "E.H." printed on a tag tied to it so it was easy enough to assume that its contents was intended for him.

As soon as he changed his clothes, he inspected whatever else was inside but besides the fresh (and ugly looking) shirt, pants, and shoes he was now wearing, there was only a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a note in there.

He took the note and opened it quickly.

 **I'll be seeing you soon! :D**

The corner of his eye twitched at the very sight of the smiley face.

"AND HERE WE GOOOOOOOOOO~!"

At the sound of this loud shout, his head snapped above head and a few seconds later, he could feel the boat finally move.

Finally, he could feel himself relax a little. He wasn't completely out of trouble yet but this was incredibly good progress thus far.

The very thought of it made his exhaustion return and overcome his body. He can't remember the last time he's had a decent sleep and the sight of the nearby bed though clearly much too small for him, looked incredibly inviting.

So without a second thought, he let his body fall onto the clean sheets.

Though the inside of the room was even smaller in size as his room for the last three years, just by the sound of the boat's engine and the smell of the sea water, his body could already tell and feel the difference.

Now he really did feel it… he _actually_ made it out of prison. He's finally _free_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

If you're familiar with my writing style, you'll notice how simple(?) and short this chapter is.

Just so everyone knows, this entire story will be written in this way. Normally, stories I write have an average of around 4,000+ words. This story (the ten finished chapters I've written anyway) only have an average of 2,000+ words in each chapter. So, don't expect any of my mega-long writing like those in **Lies and Love** or **Mending Mistakes**. _Capiche_?

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll be posting the next one soon-ish!

Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	2. You're lying

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

And here's chapter two! Surprised? I usually put in a lot of time between updates but for this story, since the chapters are short, I finish up with them faster.

Also right now I'm not too concerned with the lack of readers/reviews/etc (but they're still very welcome!). I'm already aware of the lack of people reading CCS fanfics compared to before when I was in the middle of writing my older stories, but my main goal right now is just to get my stories out. I've been itching to post at least one of the gazillion I've written in the past few years.

So expect to see my name still lurking around the CCS fandom at least until I find another fandom that will appeal to me as strongly as this one (though I can't see that happening- CURSE YOU SYAORAN AND SAKURA! [but not really]).

That aside, I'm still _very_ grateful to those of you who have read, reviewed and followed this story and also to those who took the time to send me messages. I always love hearing from you guys~ _*Throws cookies*_

 **deadflo** \- I haven't been to South Korea but I'm really interested with their culture! Probably what influenced me to use it in this story. I plan on going there... someday. xD

 **Khiyo Gizele** \- Thank you as usual for the continued support~! Hope you're still having fun with your version of **Lies and Love**.

 **Anatolie** \- I'm actually surprised at myself for actually managing to put up a new story but I'm also glad I did. Thank you so much for the kind words!

Now... onward!

* * *

 **Chapter Two**

 _ **"You're lying."**_

* * *

"Sir… wake up. Sir… Sir!"

His eyes snapped open and the younger of the brothers from earlier was hovering over him. His face was so close it was almost unnerving.

"What?"

"We've arrived. You can continue your rest in the other boat. It's ready to depart. I would've carried you but that would be mighty hard. Look at the size of you after all. My brother's carried off the girl already though."

He didn't understand a thing the man was saying. Coming from such a deep sleep, he still felt groggy and it didn't feel like he had slept for too long either. His limbs were also aching from the uncomfortable position he had while sleeping on the small bed.

"Right," he grumbled before looking around.

"Ah, I had your bag and things moved already."

He jerked his head in understanding. "About the payment, I-"

"No worries, no worries. We already received it. The fancy boat captain gave us the other half of the money."

Another nod and he slowly stood up.

"Thanks for taking me here safely."

Sang-chul grinned at him and followed him out of the room and out towards the deck.

Ji-woo was standing there, his arms on the railing of the fishing boat as he gazed at the medium-sized yacht parked right next to them.

"That's one fancy boat," he commented and the captain of the "fancy boat" who was standing stiffly close by and looking a little uncomfortable didn't make a comment.

"Captain," at these words, both Ji-woo and the captain of the yacht turned.

"Mister Li!" the latter said enthusiastically. The relief in his voice was also clear. "It's great to see you alright sir!"

"Mister Li?" Ji-woo repeated, his brows high into his forehead as he looked at the man standing next to his brother.

"Aren't you Mister Hiiragizawa? Hiiragizawa Eriol?"

"Thank you for taking me here safely captain," he repeated the words he had told Sang-chul below deck and nodded before he made his way towards the side of the boat.

The captain of the yacht scrambled forwards to assist him.

"Fan," he said as he took the man's hand roughly by ways of a greeting. "I'm surprised Eriol sent you. I thought he wanted to have people who had absolutely no relation to me do this job. Isn't that why he isn't here?"

"That's what he intended sir. But he also said that it probably wouldn't hurt to have one familiar face on your journey," he said with a grin.

"He probably also doesn't trust anyone but you to take me to the island."

"That too," Fan said and this time he looked quite proud of himself.

"Well, I'll leave it to you to get me there in one piece."

"You can count on me!"

With that, the young captain quickly made his way towards the cockpit.

"Ah, hey, hold up… if you're not Mister Hiiragizawa, then who are you?"

He turned around towards the fishing boat where the Song brothers were both leaning against the rusted railing. He didn't answer them, just stared.

"It's not like we're gonna tell anyone or anything. We're clearly out of our league here," Ji-woo said with a nod towards the yacht. "But we should at least know who our client is."

"My name is Li Xiao Lang."

* * *

"How long until we reach Seven?"

"Not too long. With the speed we're going, I'd say we'll get there in eleven hours. If you travelled most of the way with me than on that fishing boat, you would've arrived there sooner."

Syaoran nodded in agreement to this but he also figured this was part of Eriol's plan. Traveling in a shabby fishing boat would be far less conspicuous than traveling in a private yacht.

"Do you think it was wise to tell them your name though?" Fan inquired looking worried. "They seemed harmless but…"

"Eriol paid them and must have chosen them for a reason. He probably has people keeping an eye on those two as well in case they try and do anything they shouldn't after this," he said quite easily. "Did you run into any trouble getting to this area?"

"I ran into the CCG miles out of Shanghai but I told them I was taking this baby out for a test run. They saw I was alone so they let me off easy enough after I showed them my ID."

"What if they see a pattern of when they saw you out at sea and my escape?"

"Oh, Mister Hiiragizawa's got that covered too. Here, look," at this he took out his wallet and pulled out an ID and gave it to Syaoran. The man on the picture was clearly Fan but the name was different. "He had this sent to me and told me to use it if I had to. The CCG cleared me without a problem so all's good."

Syaoran nodded at this. Eriol certainly did cover all his bases. At least that's something he can rely on him to do. Despite his _odd_ personality, Eriol was always reliable in the most crucial of times.

The pair fell into silence for a long while. The ocean was wide open and clear of any obstacles and even the weather was cooperating. It was sunny but not scorching. All things considered, it was a perfect day.

"Well, we'll be heading with this course for a while," Fan said nearly an hour later as he checked the digital monitor in front of him and clicked a few buttons on the dashboard. "Would you mind taking the wheel for a while? I need to check on your partner. Mister Song said earlier that besides the heat stroke, she's also suffering from sea sickness, I'll need to check on-"

"What?" Syaoran said blankly.

Fan looked at him in surprise. "Your partner… the girl you came here with…?"

This didn't make any sense to Syaoran in the slightest. His "partner" who had helped him escape from prison and had brought him all the way to Jeju Island is _still_ on the island. They had somehow gotten involved with a rowdy tourist and though they weren't directly involved, they were asked to stay in order to account for what happened. This would obviously cause unneeded delay which they clearly can't afford so he had insisted that Syaoran go ahead while he dealt with the matter in their place.

"The _man_ who helped me escape prison and accompanied me to Jeju Island is still in Jeju Island," Syaoran said in a clear voice.

Now looking bewildered, Fan looked at Syaoran as if he had grown another head.

"Then… who's the girl below deck?"

* * *

Sakura slowly opened her eyes. She still felt off, but she felt infinitely better compared to the last time she had regained consciousness though it was only long enough to throw up.

"Ugh," she groaned as she pushed herself up to a sitting position.

Looking around her, she didn't recognize a single thing. The room around her was totally unfamiliar.

She blinked.

"I'm dreaming," she told herself before closing her eyes again and lying back down. "I'm _definitely_ dreaming."

But a few minutes later of feigning sleep, nothing happened. She didn't jolt awake from actual sleep. She even started pinching cheek but still everything stayed as it was.

Sakura pushed herself back up to a sitting position and the one thing that won'e leave her mind was that one question:

 _Where in the world am I?!_

Panicking, she threw the blanket off from her and dashed towards the door. The moment she ran few steps outside, she slammed against something hard and she fell to the ground.

"Ow," she said and winced. Though her bottom was hurting at that very second, it was her palms that hurt more.

She raised her palms to check on them only to see that they were covered with bandages.

The sight of them seemed to jolt her memories.

She had hurt herself earlier… she had bumped into a scary looking man on Jeju Island and she had grazed her hand on the floor when she tried to break her fall… then the man stole her phone… she gave chase and… and…

Sakura continued to stare at her palms.

"And then what happened?" she asked out loud.

"What are you talking about?"

This sudden question from an unfamiliar voice startled Sakura and she looked up.

"It's you!" she shouted and pointed at the bear like man in front of her. "The thief who stole my phone! Where is it? Return it to me at once! And where am I? What did you do to me? You're a kidnapper too, are you?! I can't believe this, I-"

Sakura cut off immediately as he threw a rather fierce glare in her direction. She was literally frozen on the spot.

He maintained his piercing gaze for a while before finally walking away from her without even bothering to help her back onto her feet.

"Eat," he suddenly said and he placed a plate on the nearest table before walking away.

Sakura watched him leave without giving so much as a backward glance at her. He left through the already open doorway made completely out of glass right across the floor and his form disappeared easily as he walked towards the side of the house.

She had intended to find a means of escape but Sakura felt like this would be no easy feat considering she didn't even know _where_ she was, and…

Her stomach growled at that very moment and she couldn't help but look back at the plate he had left behind. There were two sandwiches atop it. It didn't look much. Ham, cheese, a few greens, and tomatoes slapped between pieces of sliced bread. But Sakura wasn't picky, especially not at that very moment. She was famished.

Without hesitation, she took one of the sandwiches and practically devoured it. Though she was by no means full, she felt a little satiated so she took the second sandwich in hand and started biting it slowly while looking around the house she was currently in.

The place was large. There also weren't any walls that divided the main rooms. The kitchen and dining room was on one side, the living room on the other. One side of the house had several doors which she could only imagine led to the bathrooms and bedrooms like the one she had come out of. The side opposite that was almost completely made of clear glass. She would have thought them to be windows but she supposed a few of them served as doorways that slid to the side seeing as the man just now went through it.

Sakura walked towards the door quietly and apprehensively. There seemed to be no one else around nearby.

When she stepped onto the wide patio made of wooden floor panels beyond the door, Sakura couldn't help but gawk at the sight before her. There was fine white sand that ran from where the patio ended all the way towards the shore where waves of water came in calm and steady intervals.

The shoreline itself was shaped like a crescent moon… it was a cove. On the left tip, it looked like it led to a steep cliff side with precarious looking rocks below it. On the right tip, it was much more elevated, like a mountain and the greenery atop it seemed to run the expanse of the place all the way towards the house she was currently at.

"Where in the world am I…" she repeated and this time she said it out loud and in an awestruck tone.

"ZP-Isle Seven."

Sakura nearly jumped out of her skin and she turned around only to see the same man from earlier standing there, at the end of the patio with his arms crossed over his chest. He was looking at her with a serious expression, a slight difference from his otherwise glaring face which is all that she had ever seen.

"W-What?"

"That's the name of this place. Zeta Project, Isle Seven. It's a private and artificially made island. One of fifteen though only a few of them are habitable like this one."

"Why are you telling me this? Aren't you a kidnapper? Kidnappers shouldn't-"

"I didn't kidnap you," he cut in with a growl and Sakura couldn't help but take a precautionary step back.

Noting this move, he couldn't help but shoot her another icy look. She was acting like he was going to attack her or something and it was irritating the hell out of him.

"Then… Then why did you t-take me here?" she demanded with a glare of her own albeit a weak one.

"Believe me, Ididn't even _want_ take you here. I practically didn't have a choice. It was either take you here or have you fed to the sharks, and believe me I'm seriously regretting my decision. I should've gone with the latter."

Sakura flinched as he said this. Judging from the look on his face, it wouldn't surprise her if he actually still tried to do that to her now.

"W-Why didn't you then?" she challenged though the moment the words came out of her mouth, she felt incredibly stupid. Was she seriously trying to challenge a clearly dangerous man into having her killed?!

He looked at her as if she was crazy and Sakura couldn't help but think that she really might be.

"Look…" she said, trying to calm herself more than anything else, "just please take me back from wherever you took me a-and I won't press charges."

At this, he snorted his derision.

Sakura frowned at this callous response but he didn't seem to care for what she thought as he walked past her and into the house.

"I'll show you something interesting," he called out from inside and though Sakura wanted nothing more to do with the guy, she could only comply.

As she reentered the house, it was to see him exiting one of the bedrooms and he was carrying a large picture frame.

He brought it over to the dining table and set it there for her to see.

Sakura looked at it. It was… a map?

Her curious expression prompted him to answer her very thoughts.

"It's a map of the island," he said. " _This_ island."

After he said this, Sakura looked at it even closer. The eastern side of the island was rather shapeless but the western side was crescent shaped with a cove in its center much like what the outside of the house looked like. The land covering the southern tip of the crescent which was the one located on her left when she was out on the patio, was mostly colored brown in color which showed it was mostly rock over there while the northern half of the island including the right tip of the crescent she had seen, was mostly colored in green indicating a more forested area.

Sakura inwardly shook her head.

The unique landscape wasn't the problem. The main issue Sakura took to this map was that there was literally only _one_ house on the entire island and it's situated in the very spot where she knew they were, right smack in the middle and right by the cove's shoreline.

Sakura blinked then shook her head for real this time.

"But… where are the other people staying… if this is the only house on the island?"

"There's _no one_ else on Seven," he said in a clear voice before walking away from her and grabbing a glass from a cabinet in the kitchen. "We're literally the only people here."

At this, Sakura paled.

She was on an island which is located God-knows-where together with this unknown man who may or may not (she highly doubted the latter possibility) kidnapped her after stealing her cell phone.

As this reality started to sink in, Sakura could feel her breathing and pulse rate increase.

"T-Take me back! Take me back _right now_. Get your boat or helicopter or whatever it is you used to get here and take me back!"

A brow cocked up on his scruffy face as she said this.

"This place is isolated. I'm here for a reason and that reason is because this place is virtually impossible to locate since it's technically off the grid. And even if someone does come here, it'll take the best and most experienced sailors to even get anywhere close to this place. If an amateur tried to dock too close at the wrong time and place, the rocks and strong waves surrounding the entire island will destroy their boats and most likely kill them as well. If they dock too far from the island and decide to swim, then the sharks will have a feast. If they dock too far and take a smaller boat, the waves will still make sure they won't get near enough."

Sakura looked at him unblinkingly as he made to fill his glass with water. Her face seemed to go even paler by the second.

"You're lying."

He rolled his eyes as he tipped the glass over his mouth. While he downed the cool liquid, he turned around to face her again. He was trying his hardest to keep himself from shouting but she's making it incredibly and unnecessarily difficult.

"Look here, you-" but he cut off and he frowned at her. "Are you okay?"

She was white as a sheet and not only that but her breathing also seemed to be ragged.

"I… I…" she looked at him as if ready to cry, "I don't…"

"Oi!" he said in alarm as he darted to her side, just in time to catch her. He had just managed to catch her head before she hit the ground and in the process banged the side of his foot on a nearby stool so now his little toe was smarting. "Fucking hell," he hissed under his breath and gritted his teeth.

When the pain started to slowly subside, he glared at the girl in his arms as if blaming her for his injury but it had no effect seeing as she was unconscious.

"This girl is a nightmare!" he continued to mutter irately but despite his feelings, he still carefully scooped her into his arms before limping his way into the room she had occupied earlier.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

CCG – China Coast Guard

Yes, it's another short chapter but I hope you guys still enjoyed it!

'Til next time!

 **Raeny**


	3. Take my hand!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

I wanted to respond to reviews again here but unfortunately my eyes won't let me right now. I'm exhausted and I've got a busy day tomorrow (read my A/N below for details).

So let's get on with the story for now...

* * *

 **Chapter Three**

 _ **"Take my hand!"**_

* * *

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Syaoran's eyes snapped open at the sound of the piercing shriek. Without even thinking about it, he threw the covers off himself and ran outside the house where the continued screaming continued.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Running quickly, he ran towards one of the staircases of the patio that led to the side of the house.

The area was completely covered by wild trees and plants. There was only a narrow path which was one that he took whenever he went into the wilderness for one reason or another but more often than not he wouldn't go in there at all unless it was necessary. Despite the island being artificial, the plants and other wildlife cultivated there were very much real as was the danger they posed.

"HELP ME! AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

At the sound of the terrorized voice, Syaoran picked up his pace despite the fact that he was still barefoot.

The screaming just now was close by but somewhere off the side and clearly not in the way of the path.

"OI! Where are you?!" he called out in the direction he thought she was in before he strayed off the path and started pulling away the plants and tree branches that were in his way. Inwardly he cursed the fact that he never bothered to get her name.

"HERE! HERE! HELP ME PLEASE!"

It was close but he still didn't see her anywhere.

"Keep talking so I'll know where you are!"

Instead of talking however, Sakura opted for screaming instead.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

From this, Syaoran knew he was really close by.

After he passed through several more thick bushes, he finally found her… and it wasn't a pretty site.

There she was, dangling off the side a fairly shallow pit. If she just let go of the tree root she was dangling off of and landed on her feet, she could still come out of it virtually unscathed, if it weren't for the fact that the pit was full of snakes.

It was a snake nest.

"Shit," Syaoran said under his breath. Even he could tell the gravity of the situation.

"AAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Sakura screamed again before she started kicking her right leg and the snake which had managed to wrap around her ankle was sent flying into the air before landing onto other snakes on the opposite side of the pit.

Carefully, Syaoran walked over towards where she was. But it wasn't easy. Though the majority of the snakes were in the pit, there was a good deal of them outside of it as well. This was probably the cause as to how she was thrown into this situation.

"Please, please, please," she started saying in a sort of mantra and though Syaoran was grateful she stopped shrieking her head off, this still didn't help things at all.

When he reached close enough to her, Syaoran dug his knees to the dirt and stretched his arm in her direction.

"Oi, take my hand!" he instructed Sakura in the calmest voice he could muster despite the situation.

There was a snake not 3 feet away from where he was and he wouldn't put it past the thing to strike him whenever it saw fit.

Sakura peeled her eyes open when she heard Syaoran's voice so close by. This would have been an otherwise harmless motion had it not been for the fact that the first thing she saw was the pitch black snake whose head was mere inches away from her ankle. Sakura's eyes trailed down the snake's thick body, it was as thick as the size of her calves and it was currently slowly slithering up closer to her, its body in the air while the rest of its length down to its tail remained at the bottom of the pit.

When she felt the snake's tongue touch the bare skin of her ankle, Sakura lost it.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Syaoran cringed at the sound of her voice. She was loud enough when he was in the house. Hearing her scream in that pitch up close was almost deafening.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" she screamed while kicking her feet violently in hopes of hitting the biggest snake she had seen thus far.

Unfortunately, her rough movements were all it took for the tree root she had been holding on to give way. A portion of the soil that was holding it in place eroded and Sakura, shocked from the sudden descent, lost her grip on the root completely.

Syaoran watched in horror as she fell flat onto the pit. He was still grateful the pit was shallow but the fact that the pit was still infested with the slithering reptiles was still a _big_ cause for concern.

"Shit!" he cursed again.

* * *

With blank eyes, Sakura watched in silence.

The man who had been the reason why she went into the jungle in the first place was currently in the middle of bandaging her arm. He had already treated and bandaged the six other wounds she had received from the earlier incident. He even redid those on her palms which she got from their meeting two days ago.

When he cut the end of the long white cloth, he proceeded to tie it securely before sighing and sitting up straight on the bar stool again.

They were currently in the kitchen area. After he saved Sakura from the snakes, he was quick to take her back into the house, firmly set her on the kitchen island, and treat her injuries.

"How are you feeling?"

He didn't have much emotion in his tone. Sakura didn't know what exactly he was thinking or feeling at the moment but she could imagine him being angry at least.

"I-I'm fine," she replied in a very small and barely audible voice. "Thank you for treating my wounds a-and for saving me…"

Syaoran looked at her in silence. She refused to meet his eye and she looked quite docile at the moment that it felt like he was talking to a completely different person.

Despite only knowing her for a total of three days- not even that if you count the exact hours of when they actually had contact with each other –but he already gathered enough from her to know that she's a fighter. After all, who in their right mind would chase after a man of his size and looks just for a stolen cell phone? And who in their right mind would wander around an unfamiliar _jungle_ by themselves?

It annoyed the hell out of him but it was even more annoying to see her like this.

"Don't do this again," he said eventually before he pulled one of his legs over his lap to check his own injuries now. Sakura sustained two snake bites and various cuts and bruises and though his own injuries weren't as bad as hers, he still managed to get hurt from running through the jungle barefooted.

Syaoran hissed as he pulled out a tiny but sharp rock from the soul of his foot. He had quite a bit of cuts and small puncture wounds on both his feet.

"I… I'm s-sorry…"

He looked up at Sakura who was now staring at the slightly bloodied bottom of his left foot.

From the sound of her voice, he could tell that she was on the verge of tears.

"Don't worry about it," he said gruffly without bothering to look at her as he proceeded to clean his foot using the basin of warm water he had used on Sakura to clean the dirt of from her injuries.

"I… I was trying t-to find a way out… I'm sorry… I didn't believe you when you said there was nothing and no one else in this place… I…" she trailed away as he slowly stood up.

He placed a hand on top of her head. It was a reassuring gesture, like a father trying to comfort a child, but this act only made Sakura feel even worse.

Without another word, Syaoran picked up the first aid kit and the basin from the floor which now had dirtied water. He walked away towards the bathroom with slow and cautious steps.

"Get some rest," he said before he shut the door behind him.

Sakura looked on at the door with guilty eyes and bit her lip. He got hurt because of her, he came out and put himself in danger because of her, he even treated her injuries and very carefully too before his own… if he really was as bad as she had thought, he could've chosen to ignore her plea for help and just let her get eaten by the snakes… but he didn't.

The very thought made Sakura feel a painful pang on her chest.

"I'm the worst," she said to herself before covering her face with her bandaged palms.

* * *

Syaoran turned the shower dial off and stepped out of the glass enclosed stall now feeling clean and infinitely better despite the light stinging coming from the souls of his feet.

He wrapped a towel around his waist before grabbing the first aid kit and exiting the bathroom.

Sakura was no longer on the kitchen island but he saw her form sitting on the fenceless edges of the patio outside. Just the sight of her slightly hunched back was enough for him to know that she was still feeling remorseful about the incident.

 _Then don't go wandering outside by yourself in the first place,_ he thought with a shake of his head before he continued on his way towards the master bedroom.

He changed into fresh clothes quickly and proceeded to treat and bandage his feet. His injuries weren't that bad, it would probably take four or so days to fully heal but he was quite sure the stinging would disappear before the day was out.

At present, the biggest problem he had was… the girl.

Syaoran sat at the edge of his bed and rested his elbows on his knees.

He had to think of what to do now. Her presence on the island was already a big problem. The fact that she was even _involved_ with him was already a problem. The situation right now is more or less kidnap. Though it really didn't matter considering the more severe charges against him that got him into prison in the first place, this was still not something he want added to his already colorful background.

There was also the fact that she was Japanese. Though she didn't look entirely Japanese, but fact is she is from another country. The last thing he needed was to involve anyone else outside of the Chinese and Korean government.

Syaoran ran a hand through his long hair. He hadn't had a hair cut for two months which was the last time he was scheduled for a cut in prison. His beard was also getting incredibly long, it was now impossible to see a good portion of the top of his neck.

In short he looked like some kind of savage if it weren't for the help of his clothes. He was grateful for Eriol who had apparently stocked on a lot of necessities he might need while on the island from a closet full of clothes (though most of them had awful designs and were also fairly tight since he packed on a bit of muscle from constantly working out; this was due to the lack of having anything to do in prison) to packages and cans of food.

Unfortunately, he seemed to miss out on a lot of other things like a razor though he did fill the bathroom cabinets with bottles of shampoo and soaps.

He shook his head. His thoughts were straying towards his constant annoyance for his best friend.

 _KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

Syaoran looked up towards his door at the sound. Of course he knew who it was but it surprised him that she actually came for him.

Wondering what she could possibly need, he went to open the door.

She stood there, her gaze pointed to the floor and her hands clasped nervously behind her back.

"I… I was wondering if I can cook… cook for you… and me," she mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

Surprised by what she was saying and even more by the pretty shade of pink her cheeks attained, Syaoran looked at her in silence.

A few seconds of this and she finally looked up at him though it lasted a mere half second before she started looking around nervously again as she continued to speak.

"It's… well, I'm pretty good with my hands and well… yeah I'm decent at cooking so… so I was wondering if I can help that way to make up for… you know…"

Syaoran still didn't say anything but she was now looking at him (or rather his forehead seeing as she was clearly uncomfortable with direct eye contact) inquiringly, clearly waiting for his reply.

He nodded.

With that simple gesture, she sent him a small but grateful smile and with a bow, quickly headed towards the kitchen.

He watched her quite bemused. Her complete personality change was baffling, even more so was the notable change in her physical appearance. That was the first time he had seen her smile. Since meeting her, Syaoran never gave any consideration to how she looked. The tension he felt on Jeju Island pushed every other thought he could have had out of his mind and moving her from the boat to the island, she was sick that he only recalled her looking pallid and simply ill. Since then, during their short moments of interaction they were bickering and he was far too irritated at her to even consider her appearance.

Now, however, his head was fairly clear and his mood was rather calm. Add that with her now less-than-annoying attitude, he can't help but notice that she looked quite… _good_.

* * *

 _ **TEN Days Later…**_

Ever since that snake incident, Sakura had rethought her situation. She had especially rethought her opinion on her mysterious companion.

It was clear after all this time that he really had told her the truth. More than a week had passed since they got to Seven and there really hasn't been a single sign that there was anyone else living there besides the pair of them though the presence of wild animals was apparent when she saw a wild baby hog wandering near the shoreline before its larger parent came to pick it up and drag it back into the thicket of bushes.

Another thing Sakura came to realize was the lack of electronics on the island- or rather, the house since she never bothered to venture outside save for the occasional walk by the nearby shore when she found herself having nothing else to do. She still hadn't asked about what happened to her cell phone since she wasn't exactly at the point of managing casual conversation with her esteemed host. But she had noticed that there weren't any phones or computers. There was a large flat screen TV in the living room but she had never seen it turned on. The lights and other more necessary gadgets did function so there was no doubt in her mind that there was electricity, but there was nothing there that could be used as a means of communication.

Sakura cleared her throat and the man sitting opposite her on the dining table looked up.

"I was wondering if… I could watch TV or…" she said this rather hesitantly. This was the first request she had ever made since she became a resident of the island with him.

Syaoran nodded. "There isn't cable here though. But there's a large collection of movies so you can just watch that."

"O-Okay!" Sakura said rather happily before stabbing the meat with her fork and taking a bite out of it. "And, by the way… the food is running low. I guess there's still enough to last another week but I won't be able to make anything that complicated or anything sooner or later. Some of the condiments are running low too but…"

Her voice trailed away as he stopped chewing to glance up at the nearby clock.

"Is… Is something wrong?"

This was the most Sakura had ever spoken to him in one sitting. They don't really spend much time together so there haven't been many opportunities to talk. The only sure time they had in each other's company was really during dinner time.

Sakura didn't know what he was doing every single day but without fail, he would disappear as soon as he finished bathing.

The first time Sakura made breakfast for them both, he had told her that he'd prefer something he could take with him. At that point, Sakura started making sandwiches and rice balls. When his routine of grabbing his breakfast and heading out and returning only when nightfall came, Sakura also picked up the habit of packing his lunch.

She didn't question what he was doing, nor did she try to get in his way. She still didn't know just how long she was expected to stay there on the island with him but she assumed from the declining amount of food and other supplies that they had to leaveSeven and go somewhere to replenish. And when that time came, she'll bring up the topic about setting her free as well.

Syaoran finally tore his gaze from the clock to look at Sakura.

"Are you good at cooking seafood too?"

This question surprised her but she nodded a little. She also couldn't help but notice when he said "too" which at least meant he liked the dishes she had been preparing. "Just normal I guess… I mean, I suppose I know a few dishes?"

He continued to stare at her for a while before he silently resumed his meal.

* * *

The previous day's question finally made sense to Sakura when the next day, Syaoran showed up back in the house earlier than expected. He usually came back at 5 or 6 PM the latest but this time he returned two hours earlier and with him was a small sack full of…

"Scallops!" Sakura exclaimed in amazement as she picked up a particularly huge one from the pile. It was nearly as big as her entire hand.

She looked up at him and noticed him dripping wet. His long wet hair and beard was sticking to his skin that he looked almost creepy though she didn't say this aloud.

"Did you dive for these?" she decided to ask as he made for the bathroom. Didn't he say that it was dangerous to get into the water surrounding the island? She had also spent a bit of time outside today and she didn't see him by the shore either.

"It's dangerous to get into the water anywhere else on the island except for the bay up front," he told her through the still open door as if reading her mind. Sakura could hear him turning on the shower. "But there are a few specific areas that are safe to tread at certain times. I could only get that much, if I went any further to get more, there would have been larger ones but the tide could easily sweep me away."

There was silence for a while before the door to the bathroom finally closed and Sakura looked down at the small sack which she was now running under flowing water in the sink. There looked to be 30 or so inside.

He took enough for a single meal for the pair of them.

Sakura couldn't help but smile a little at his consideration.

* * *

"Uhm… can I ask you a question?"

Syaoran didn't say anything but apparently Sakura took his silence as his ascent.

"I… I still don't know your name," she mumbled and feeling quite stupid. She had spent nearly two weeks now with this man and she still didn't know his name, of course she'd feel stupid. His name was something she had really wanted to know earlier on but as more days passed, it increasingly became harder to ask.

Blushing, she stole a glance at him only to find that he was already looking at her.

When their eyes met, she turned away quickly and proceeded to wipe the plate dry. This was another one of the routines that fell into place days ago. After dinner, he would wash and she'd dry. He had insisted on this since she had to do all the cooking.

Sakura tiptoed and put the now extra dry plate on top of the small pile of similar looking plates inside one of the top cabinets.

"Li," he finally said before handing her a wet glass.

"Li…?"

He hesitated for an unusually long while that Sakura thought he may not have heard her or understood her.

"Xiao Lang," he finally said and this time he sounded a little… aggravated? "But you can just call me Syaoran."

"Syaoran," she repeated curiously. "So you're not Korean. I already expected this since you don't look Korean… I think."

Syaoran had to try and keep from raising his brows at her. He looked _nowhere_ _near_ Korean and this should have been obvious from the very start. Any normal person would have known this after one look at him.

"You don't look entirely Japanese either…?" he told her with a bit of a pitch in the end of his sentence, indicating he too was inquiring as to her name.

"Ah, my name is Sakura. Kinomoto Sakura," she said quickly and flashed him a smile which though Syaoran started getting used to seeing, still caught him off guard especially when it's directed at him from so close.

"Sakura," he repeated. It's been a long time since he properly addressed a female. There wasn't a single female in the high-security prison he had been held in and this included the guards. In fact, this was the first time in a long while that he's ever spoken to or even been with a girl. At the very thought, he felt an unconscious heat bubbling from somewhere below his stomach.

"Oh and what you said earlier, it's true. My mom was a half," she explained conversationally while doing some random gesture over her face.

Syaoran couldn't help but yet again be amazed with her change of attitude.

Over the last few days, any hint of her initial attitude towards him had all but disappeared. At this point, it felt like she had actually developed a degree of trust in him. This was good for him since it would be a pain if she was to start freaking out again but at the same time he couldn't help but feel disapproving. Young women shouldn't easily put their trust on clearly suspicious men such as himself. She didn't know a thing about him to even begin to trust him… even to a small degree.

"Did I say something to offend you?"

This question brought him back to the present. He glanced down at her and she was looking at a point somewhere on his shoulder. This was one of the things he found amusing about her to this day. She never looks him in the eye for longer than a second and settled on looking at other parts of his face or body when speaking instead, though he couldn't blame her. Considering his size and current appearance, he could only imagine how intimidating he looked.

"It's nothing," he muttered and he resumed with cleaning the pot she had used to cook earlier.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I had planned to get this and at least one or two more chapters out by this time but unfortunately I got caught up with some stuff in the last few days. I've been so busy lately since I'm leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow and from there I'll be flying to Boston, MA. Once I get there, I'll have to deal with jet lag a little but I will try to upload the next chapter as soon as possible.

That said, I thank those who read, reviewed, followed, favorite-d, and what not! I really appreciate it!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter... 'til next time! Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	4. Who are you calling stupid?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

...and I'm back!

I _hate_ super long flights (it was 16+ hours long! My shoulder is sore from awkward sleeping positions and my butt still feels flattened from over sitting) but I'm glad I made it back to America safely. Now I'm officially settled in and so here's an update for you guys!

Before that, a big thank you to the readers, followers and most especially the reviewers who kindly took the time to leave me something to read. It's good to know what you guys think of the story so far~ _*shoves cookies in your mouths*_ Enjoy! :D

* * *

 **Chapter Four**

 _ **"Who are you calling stupid?"**_

* * *

Sakura woke up with a start.

A loud bang had resounded outside and it effectively drove her to a state of consciousness in a second.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes to clarity.

There was no second banging sound anymore but there was the sound of dragging of something rather heavy.

"Syaoran?" she said mostly to herself before going to the vanity in her room to check her appearance.

She had been wearing the few weirdly designed clothes Syaoran had provided for her since her own- though they were a simple shirt and pants -got tattered and torn when she fell into the snake pit. They looked huge on her but judging from the size, they weren't something meant for him either unless they were a tight-fit to begin with.

Sakura flattened her bed head by running her hands through her hair quickly and tying it into a messy ponytail. Because there was no one else on the island but Syaoran to look at her appearance, she wasn't too uncomfortable with her less than appealing appearance but being a girl, she still had a degree of consciousness to at least look decent.

When she thought she looked "okay," Sakura finally left her room but was surprised when she saw a mountain of boxes stacked on the otherwise empty floor located in front of the glass entrance between the kitchen and living area.

What were in the boxes, Sakura didn't know but before she could even make a move to check the contents of the nearest one, the sound of footsteps got her attention.

Syaoran had just climbed the short stairs up to the patio, clearly coming from somewhere down the shore and he was carrying a stack of three small boxes in his arms.

The moment their eyes met, Sakura bowed. "Good morning?" Her greeting came off as more of a question than anything else.

"Morning," he replied before putting the boxes he just brought in on the kitchen counter.

"Uhm… what are these?" she asked unsurely.

"Supplies. They finally came in. I was expecting them to come in days ago but the water wasn't calm enough to let the boat near enough to deliver these from the usual spot."

Sakura had to repeat the words he had just said in her mind a couple of times before she could finally make sense of it. There's a _boat_.

"W-Where's the boat? I… I'll go there right now and hitch a ride to-" but she cut off when Syaoran shook his head. He was looking pointedly at her now.

"I told you, I'm on this island for a reason. I'm not leaving and it's for the same reason that you aren't either," he said quite simply as if he were talking about something as casual as the weather. But at his words, Sakura could feel the blood inside her boil.

"You're keeping me here against my will!" she shouted. She hadn't raised her voice for a while now that she thought she sounded particularly intimidating.

Apparently this was only in her opinion though as Syaoran responded to her with an icy glare she hadn't seen in a while either. He was looking at her so intensely that she couldn't help but take a cautionary step back.

He didn't say a word at all. Instead he kept his angry gaze on her up to the point where her eyes began to water and she ran back to her room, and slamming the door behind her in the process.

"Tch," Syaoran clicked his tongue as he redirected his glare to the box in front of him.

* * *

Sakura cried for who knows how long with her head buried into one of her pillows.

It wasn't like Syaoran promised to release her or anything like that in the first place but she still felt incredibly betrayed, as if he had broken his word.

True, it was nothing but her own willful thinking that he would release her or that they'd leave the island once food and other supplies ran out. That's why she managed to become quite calm despite her situation. But now it was clear to her… there were no plans to leave the island. Even if they run out of food or whatever necessities they need, Syaoran still had people bring those in whenever he liked.

Sakura rethought the situation carefully.

Their stock of supplies will surely run out again, and surely the boat will come back again to resupply. Then that means that she'll have another chance to escape. When the boat returns, then she'll just have to hitch a ride somehow.

She didn't know where Seven was located in. She also can't imagine how long it took for them to reach the place since she was mostly sick and unconscious on the way there but judging from the observations she made from the lack of airplanes, helicopters, boats that pass by the island, it was clear that they were a good deal away from any other kind of land. The lack of airplanes was especially daunting. It means wherever part of the sea or ocean they were, it was an area where planes flew in higher altitudes so they must be quite far off from main lands.

Sakura raised her head from her pillow and wiped her tears roughly.

"Patience," she told herself. "I'll get out of here soon enough… all I need is patience." There was no point in crying now. No one's going to be able to help her so she'll just have to help herself. She just has to wait for that time of opportunity to come. "The next boat… definitely."

* * *

Sakura had planned to keep to herself for the rest of the day but when afternoon came, she couldn't stand it anymore. There was nothing to do in her room and she was hungry. She hadn't had anything to eat since the previous night's feast of scallops. She had, after all, walked out on Syaoran that morning after their argument without getting anything to eat for breakfast.

Slowly, she pulled the door open. Everything was silent and still outside. The boxes were still piled in front of the entrance but she noticed there were two or so of the smaller sized boxes that was missing.

When she was sure Syaoran wasn't anywhere near, Sakura fully opened the door and exited. She quickly made her way to the kitchen and was in the middle of thinking about what to cook for herself when she spotted the plate on the dining table.

It was one of the larger plates that could fit four full sandwiches in it but right now it only had two atop it with bread crumbs left on the unoccupied space.

Clearly, it meant that Syaoran had taken whatever was there and purposefully left the other two untouched sandwiches for her.

Biting her lip, Sakura pulled away the clear plastic wrap around it and picked up one of the sandwiches. It was exactly like the first sandwich he had made for her. Such a simple thing she wondered what he would've done for food had she not been there to cook for him.

In spite of herself, Sakura smiled a little before taking a bite out of it.

Despite how simple it was, it was still delicious and instantly, Sakura felt another wave of guilt and she hated herself for it. She was held there against her will so why should she feel guilty for being rude with him? He deserved being talked to that way since he's keeping her there despite her wanting to leave… _right?!_

Sakura pulled one of the chairs and let herself fall on top of it as she continued slowly with her meal.

"Quit contradicting yourself," she muttered, referring to how Syaoran was being nice and at the same time doing something terrible. "Boke-hige."

"Who are you calling stupid?"

At the sound of his voice, Sakura jumped so violently that her knees collided with the bottom of the dining table.

Gritting her teeth from the pain, she lowered her forehead to the table as she tried to keep herself from shouting out… and spewing the pieces of partially chewed food still in her mouth. At the moment she was also sure she was red in the face from embarrassment and by no means did she want to face him especially not right after he just heard her insult him.

Sakura could hear his bare feet pad around the wooden floor it was a wonder how she hadn't heard him come up close to her from behind.

"W-Why are you here? Aren't you usually out at this time?" she mumbled with her head still bent over the table.

"No need since the supplies are here," he replied and from this, Sakura finally understood the reason why he had been out so much in the first place. It was to keep a look out for the boat and its cargo. Seeing as that mountain at the northern part of the island seemed like the highest point of the island, maybe he had been going there for a bird's eye view?

 _Then that means he'll start going out again when the next boat is due to come,_ thought Sakura and keeping a mental note to watch Syaoran's actions when that time comes. "I see," she said out loud as if uninterested.

Silence fell between them again and Sakura could only listen to Syaoran moving about behind her as she continued to munch on her sandwich with her chin still resting on the table. Very unladylike but she didn't care either way. It was just the two of them after all.

The sound of tape being torn and boxes being opened filled the space between them. After some time she started hearing the rustling of packages and bottles and all sort of things as he started taking out the contents of the boxes. Sakura was incredibly curious and really wanted to take a look at what were in the boxes but her pride wouldn't let her come and talk to Syaoran first as if their earlier argument hadn't happened.

Without a word however, a small box was pushed across the table next to the now empty plate in front of her.

Sakura stared at it quite dumbly as Syaoran proceeded to do whatever he had been doing with the rest of the boxes.

"What's this?" she asked, still not turning to look at him.

He didn't answer her so she proceeded to pull the box closer to her and pulled open the lid.

She blushed. The box was filled with things… _girly_ things. To her horror, there was even an unopened pack of underwear.

"I… What…" she was at a loss for the right words to say. She was grateful and even relieved to see the contents. Her eyes fell particularly on the packs of sanitary pads in the corner.

Truth be told, she had wondered what she would do whenever her period would come around. She had even considered using her old tattered clothes and turning them into a sort of makeshift diaper. At one point, she even thought about making use of leaves or something to stuff into her own underwear. Sakura shuddered. Inwardly she was glad it didn't come to that.

She rummaged through the contents further. Six new underwear which she hoped would fit her well when she tries them on later, the pads, two bottles each of feminine wash, lotion, and sunscreen, deodorant, a hairbrush, a toothbrush, a toiletries bag that had tweezers and other things in them, three packs of Q-tips, a loofa… there was even a tube of lip balm.

When Sakura failed to spot a new bra in there, she was glad. She wouldn't have known how to react if she was bought one a size too big or too small for her to wear.

"Fan has a younger sister," Syaoran said from behind her.

Sakura vaguely recalled that name but it was a blurry memory of Syaoran talking to someone with that name. It was one of the hazy memories she had of when she was sick on the boat.

"Thank you," she said and again she felt like crying out of guilt. What was she supposed to do? Obviously Syaoran was nice and considerate but for the life of her, she doesn't understand why she has to be kept there like a caged animal.

What was so bad about her returning home?!

Biting her lip, an inner battle commenced within her as she wondered if she should apologize for shouting at him earlier or not.

Syaoran was clearly unaware of her inner turmoil however as he continued to sort the boxes and only stopped when Sakura stood from her seat after slamming her palms onto the table.

There was complete silence now and Sakura could only imagine he was staring at her with a "You're weird" expression on his face.

"Syaoran," she said with more force than she intended. She'll apologize for earlier, but she also had to tell him that she felt that keeping her there was also not right and that it's something that _he_ should apologize for as well. She took a deep breath and turned around to face him, determined. "Syaoran, I'm…"

But her words died and her eyes slowly widened to the size of saucers instead as her eyes met with the man in front of her.

Syaoran stood there, two new bottles of ketchup he managed to hold with his fingers on one hand, and a large bag of salt on the other. But it wasn't the condiments that got her attention and rendered her tongue-tied… it was the man holding them.

He looked different, and incredibly so.

He was wearing forest green track pants that hung low on his hips and a matching nicely fitted plain white v-neck shirt that seemed to emphasize his broad shoulders, muscular arms and nicely developed chest.

This was already enough to grab Sakura's attention since for the last few days, he's only been wearing clothes a bit too tight on him and though those also emphasized his large frame, it only emphasized it in an unattractive way.

But what really caused Sakura's otherwise chaotic mind to cease all activity was the very striking change in his features.

His hair was still quite long but this time it was brushed back and looked like it was held in place with product like hair mousse or something. His mustache and beard was also completely gone. She could see his surprisingly naturally pink and nicely defined lips and strong jaw-line in full view. Even his previously thick brows were now trimmed and nicely shaped that it seemed to further enhance the surprisingly clear and almost piercing shade of amber of his eyes- something Sakura never noticed before due to her fear to look at him for too long.

Sakura tried not to gape at him.

She was shocked that he was actually _this_ gorgeous under all that hair but another thing that surprised her was the fact that he was actually much younger than she thought. From his looks she had assumed he was an older man probably in his mid to late 30s. Now it was clear that he could only be a few years older than she was.

His brows slowly rose to his forehead and though this reaction agitated her when he did it pre-makeover since it made him look alarming, now she felt agitated for a different reason.

"What?" he said and this seemed to jolt her back to the world of the sane.

Hearing his same usual tone reminded her that he's still the same person with the same attitude even if he looked like a model straight out of a fashion magazine.

"I… I'm sorry… f-for shouting earlier!" she said with so much force that she actually sounded angry. Even she thought she sounded like she was.

Syaoran gave her an odd look. Clearly he was thinking about how weird she was acting.

Embarrassed by this, Sakura could feel her face heat up. She was sure she was beet red right now.

"I-I-I'll take these…" she mumbled as she made a grab for the box on the table and all but ran past him and towards her room where she slammed the door shut for a second time that day.

* * *

Syaoran stood with his back against his room door and his arms crossed in over his chest. Twenty or so minutes have passed since he heard Sakura leave her room with apparent hesitation in her footsteps and now he was listening to her work around in the kitchen in preparation for their dinner.

Though he was never vocal about it to anyone, Syaoran was actually naturally observant. He could easily tell what a person was thinking just from their actions and the expressions on their faces. Sakura in particular was _very_ easy to read.

Since he began taking interest in women back in his junior high days, Syaoran has met a lot of them and dated a good number of them and he has since learned enough about them to know how to deal with them.

He didn't know if it was the unique situation he was in with Sakura being stuck on an island alone together, or if it was the fact that he hasn't seen, talked or even be _intimate_ with a woman in the last three years, but he couldn't help but find her… interesting.

She had already earned his curiosity from the very first time he laid eyes on her. He can't easily forget the terror on her face when she first saw him and yet to his surprise, she easily chased after him just to get her cell phone back instead of running away screaming like any normal girl would do. Not only that, she apparently ran to try to keep up with him to the point of getting heat stroke when it wasn't even a particularly hot day to begin with.

There was also her fierce personality. She actually went against a clearly suspicious man and demanding to be set free and showing all signs of rebelling up to the point of fainting. Then came her nerve at walking straight to danger into an unfamiliar jungle and despite being the cause of her being on the island in the first place, she actually still apologized and thanked him for saving her just because he managed to help her out once.

Earlier she even apologized to him for shouting at him when it was perfectly understandable on her part to get agitated about being told that she wasn't allowed to leave.

Syaoran opened his eyes as a loud clanging resounded from the kitchen. Sakura had clearly hit a pot with something or another and Syaoran couldn't help the small amused smile that now adorned his lips.

This was the most recent of many surprises Sakura had given him… now she was actually attracted to the person keeping her hostage.

Though she didn't voice such a thing, her initial reaction when she saw his "refreshed" self was all the proof he needed. He wasn't just being overconfident either. He was simply accustomed to those kinds of looks from women and Sakura didn't disappoint… though her reaction was particularly obvious which made it all the more amusing to see.

After their disastrous first meeting and the many… interestingevents that followed after, Syaoran would never have imagine that he and Sakura would _ever_ get to this point.

When the sound of scraping could be heard, Syaoran assumed Sakura had finished cooking dinner. It was at this point that he finally decided to leave the confines of his room.

The moment his door swung open, his eyes met Sakura's and he had to try his hardest not to burst out laughing. The look on her face was like that of a deer caught in headlights. It was really comical. He had to bite the inside corners of his mouth and bite down his tongue to keep from teasing her about how incredibly red her face was at that very moment.

"Really amusing."

"D-Did you say something?"

Syaoran was caught off guard for a moment. He didn't realize that he had said his thoughts about Sakura out loud.

"Nothing," he said and he tilted the corners of his mouth into a small smile.

At once, Sakura's face- if possible –went even redder.

Syaoran had to feign a cough and cover his mouth in response to this just to cut off his laughter.

"What's for dinner?"

Still blushing, Sakura glanced at him looking a little confused albeit still embarrassed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Just a few translations~

 _Boke_ – Stupid, clueless, dumb

 _Hige – beard_

I literally just made this up. I don't even know if the combination of both words in actual Japanese would mean the same but to me anyway the insult _"Boke-hige"_ simply means "Stupid beardy." (lol)

I'm not a big fan of "boke" and usually prefer to use "baka" but it sounded funnier using it so there you go. I've been watching a lot of sports anime for a while ( _ **Kuroko no Basuke**_ , _**Haikyuu!**_ ) and they use the term often... it rubbed off on me.

Anyway, that said... I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the return of Syaoran's hotness (though I didn't give him back his trademark messy hair... yet). I just had to get rid of the beard and 'stache. I couldn't imagine (or tolerate) him being scruffy for too long at any rate.

See you in the next update!

 **Raeny**


	5. Who exactly are you?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Late update!

I know, I know... I'm a bad author. Gah! Some new info. will be revealed in this chapter for you guys though plus the first appearance of a _certain_ _someone_ we all know and love (guess who~) so I hope this will make up for my tardiness!

Do enjoy~

* * *

 **Chapter Five**

 _ **"Who exactly are you?"**_

* * *

The next three weeks after she was made to realize just how surprisingly handsome hercaptor was, Sakura felt like she was being backed into a corner.

It was getting more and more unbearable to be around him. She didn't know whether or not he had always had the habit of smiling decorously at times like a normal human being would since for the good part of their time together, his mouth had always been blocked from view by his facial hair. Now that it was as clear as day, she had started to notice that he wasn't as straight-faced as he looked back then. Syaoran actually smiled albeit it was a very tiny one more often than not. And though it did all the good in the world for his looks, it did the complete opposite for her heart.

For the last few days, Sakura could often be seen apparently deep in thought about something or another. One would think it was about something incredibly important but really it was just her giving herself a lecture about feeling things she shouldn't for the "enemy" AKA Syaoran.

"Sakura! Do you want to try fishing or not?"

Sakura was sitting at the end of the patio (a regular pastime for her now) with her legs dangling over the edge though the tips of her feet could easily reach the white sand below if she tried to reach for it.

Her head snapped up to the source of her dilemma. Syaoran was at the shoreline, his feet in the water up to his ankles.

If he suddenly decided to take off his shirt and start running down the shoreline while splashing water everywhere, Sakura was sure she'd pass out from a nosebleed.

"Sakura!"

She shook her head forcibly and mentally slapped herself.

"I… I'm coming!" she shouted back before jumping down to the sand and running down towards where he was.

"Has anyone ever told you you're a little airheaded?"

Sakura frowned at him. "That's not something you should tell a girl."

But he simply shrugged and gestured for her to follow after him though she walked along where the water couldn't reach her.

They walked for a while until they reached the area where the white sand ended and replaced by a slight elevation made of rock.

Syaoran stopped and held out his hand for her.

She simply looked at it and then up at him.

"It's slippery so you have to hold on. I don't want you slipping and hitting your head or something."

Just how much of a klutz does he think she was?

Then again she had shown nothing but the worse sides of her since they met.

Sakura sighed and wordlessly placed her hand on his.

He held onto her firmly before he climbed up the rock and easily pulled Sakura after him. The path could definitely let them walk together side by side and didn't look particularly dangerous. Even the cliff on the left side wasn't particularly high. She could jump into the water from there without getting hurt if only there weren't any rocks down below.

"The path isn't narrow but it gets slippery because of the water and the algae. Watch your step," he said as he walked ahead of her.

Sakura tried her best to concentrate. After all, the last thing she wanted was actually slipping and hitting her head just like he said. She stared at his hand which was firmly holding onto hers and she had to try battling down the heat creeping up to her face.

"In here."

When he said this, it almost made Sakura jump in surprise. They were already at the mouth of the cave. The path still led further forward but if they walked any more down it, they would probably reach the tip of the crescent of the southern part of the island.

"It's deeper than I thought," Sakura commented as she poked her head around Syaoran's shoulders to look inside.

She had first seen this cave a few days ago when she came out to cool down her face after talking with Syaoran over dinner and (unsurprisingly) ending up with a flushed face. She was casually walking the shoreline from north to south and when she reached the end, she noticed the cave. After asking Syaoran about it, he told her that it was used as a place where they keep some emergency supplies and also some of their outdoor gear from fishing poles to nets and other kinds of equipment.

Syaoran continued to walk inside and finally let go of her hand the deeper they went. The ground in there got drier as they went and when they reached the innermost area, it was already completely free of water.

"So the water can't reach here?" she asked as they stopped and she had to look around in amazement. The ceiling was high and the place itself was quite large and it was packed with a lot of things. Large plastic luggage containers were stacked atop each other and on one corner, a makeshift holder was screwed against the rocky wall and it held not only fishing poles but also spears, an axe, and even a collection of differently sized machetes.

Sakura thought this was rather intimidating. Had she seen this collection before getting to know Syaoran a little the past few weeks, she would definitely have thought the worst of him. Though she still barely knew anything about him, she at least knew he wasn't a killer.

"Nope," he replied in answer to her query as he bent over to check the smaller tool boxes nearby the fishing poles. "No matter how extreme the weather- or at least the ones Seven has come across with so far in the past –the water can't reach here. So everything in here is relatively safe. It's also a good place for shelter should something happen to the house. That's why some of the emergency provisions are stored here."

"I see," she said absentmindedly as Syaoran proceeded to gather the things they would need for fishing.

The more Sakura looked around her the more her mind seemed to wander. Ever since she arrived on the island, the questions which always persisted in her mind were thoughts like "Why am I here?" and "When will I go home?" She was always and endlessly wondering about her current circumstances and what were to happen to her from now on.

But now, she couldn't help but wonder about another thing and for once it had nothing to do with herself…

"Syaoran?"

"Yeah?" he said absentmindedly just as he pulled out one of the medium-sized fishing poles in order to examine it.

"Who exactly are you?"

She has asked this question without much meaning to it as she continued to gaze around the cave in amazement. Everything in there just like the interior and even the exterior of the house looked quite expensive. Though Syaoran told her they were on a private and artificial island, he hadn't said _who_ owned the place and he looked quite comfortable here as if he had been here a lot of times in the past.

The chances of him actually _owning_ the island seemed farfetched… unless he was really some kind of billionaire. But somehow she just can't imagine that being the case.

Maybe he knew the owner or something?

Her offhanded question was met with silence. In fact, it sounded as if Syaoran had stopped moving entirely and this made her turn around to look at him.

"Why do you ask that?" he asked the moment their eyes met and for some reason Sakura can't look away. He didn't look angry but there was something about the look on his face that made her feel even more afraid than she felt the first time she ever laid eyes on him.

She could only blink back at this. Words won't come out of her mouth. She didn't know why but she also felt a kind of chill not only inside her but in the air around them as well.

As if sensing the fear she felt, Syaoran relaxed his face and gave her that usual small smile he had by now taken the habit of sending her way.

"I'm just a guy who works for his family's company. Or I _did_ anyway, until three years ago," he said before he took one more fishing pole and walked towards Sakura. He held out the toolbox he had in his other hand and she took it wordlessly.

 _Three years ago?_ Sakura thought as Syaoran took her free hand into his again and started to lead her back out of the cave. _What's that supposed to mean?_

Not only had Syaoran not really answer her question, his answer just now also only raised even more questions in her mind.

* * *

"But it looks so sad though."

Syaoran cocked an eyebrow at her when she said this. "You do know that we went fishing so we can _eat_ the fish, not put it in an aquarium and turn it into a house pet?"

But Sakura didn't seem to hear him as she continued to look at the five nicely sized fishes swimming around inside the bucket.

After many failed attempts earlier, Sakura finally caught a fish. In fact, all five of the ones they were planning to have for dinner were caught by her. She had never gone fishing in her entire life so the fact that she managed to catch more than one felt rather amazing.

Syaoran had actually caught more than she had but if they hadn't released the ones he had hooked then they'd probably have enough fish to last them an entire week.

"Go take a shower first and I'll do the cooking this time. You caught the fish anyway."

"You sure?"

"Think you can behead Nemo and his friends?" he asked almost patronizingly.

At this, Sakura stuck her tongue at him rather childishly before doing as he said and heading towards her room so she could gather her towel and change of clothes.

The moment the door closed shut behind her, she leaned against it and her thoughts immediately went on a downward spiral as she recalled their earlier conversation. She hadn't had the chance to think about it since they left the cave because Syaoran was around. His presence alone was enough to distract her but now…

 _Something's definitely wrong,_ she thought.

That was the first time she had thought Syaoran really was as scary as she thought. Sure she had always thought he was scary but that was mainly due to appearance and in the way he talked. But earlier with his already cleaned up exterior, she had thought he was quite scary… even if he was also speaking in a normal tone.

"Three years," she mumbled to herself as she started to pull out one of the many loose shirts and drawstring board shorts in her closet. He stopped working for his family's company three years ago… but why? Did it have something to do with the fact that he's now living on this island?

* * *

Syaoran ran the now gutted fish under running water in the sink while absently thinking about what happened earlier. Sure he managed to distract Sakura with her mediocre fishing skills from thinking about their awkward little chat in the cave but he was quite sure now that she'll have time to think for herself that she'll be thinking about it in detail.

He sighed at this before he took another fish and started cleaning it as well.

Truth be told, he was floored by Sakura's question not because it was a shock to hear her ask about him but mainly because it made him realize just how distracted he had become. They've been on that island for almost a month and a half now and his situation outside the confines of Seven still hasn't changed. He was still an escaped convict whom the police are looking for.

Three weeks ago when Fan brought the new stock of supplies over, he had also brought news for him. He's made it to the top news not only for every news station and newspaper in South Korea and China, but according to articles he had read online, he even made international headlines. He asked Fan whether Sakura's disappearance had been mentioned at all but as far as he knew, it wasn't. But Syaoran knew it was only a matter of time when her disappearance from Jeju Island will be connected to him. A number of people visiting Jeju Island had seen his face. Surely one of them would come up and report that they had seen him there.

The time he spent with Sakura on Seven no matter now pleasantly distracting it was, is exactly as it is… a pleasant distraction. It's a pleasant distraction from the truth, that he is an escapee who had abducted a girl in the process of his attempt at freedom.

But Syaoran knew that this little fantasy world he created with Sakura will come to an end soon. She might not know it but it won't be long until they'll have to separate. Someone will be coming for him soon and when that person does appear, then the wheels of fate which had frozen since their arrival there will start to spin again and this time hopefully, it'll all end in his favor.

At the thought of his time with Sakura possibly ending soon, Syaoran didn't know what to feel.

Despite their differences, he couldn't help but feel attached to her in a way. Maybe it was because she was the only human being he had been in contact with for the last month and a half (unless you count that one brief meeting with Fan when he came with his delivery) or maybe it's because she's the first person he had come to enjoy company with since leaving prison?

Whatever the reason, the fact that he just got so used to Sakura still remained and though he didn't want to admit it, it's getting hard for him to keep himself from getting even more involved with her.

He had even found himself constantly teasing her. Most of the times it was done unconsciously but most of the times the teasing had also bordered on flirtation. Her reactions towards him were incredibly innocent that he just couldn't help it. He ended up wanting to pull all those kinds of reactions from her at every opportunity and because of this, he also ended up getting used to flashing unnecessary smiles at her just to accomplish it.

This would all seem like it wasn't such a big deal but to him, to a person like _Li Xiao Lang,_ it was.

Ever since he started his career when he was sixteen, he had slowly developed an image for himself and it was that of a "cool" person unfazed by nearly anything and that included women. And though he quit that _particular_ job to go on and take his place in his family's business, he still somehow retained that image out of habit. It did him more good than harm but this is also the reason why he somehow lost the ability to be as carefree as he had become recently.

Not to mention the incident that happened three years ago which landed him a spot in a South Korean government jail cell… now _that_ particular event only sealed the deal to Syaoran's personality.

After those three particularly difficult (not to mention boring) years, he thought for sure that there was no coming back to the days where in he could easily smile or laugh over something as simple and silly as wanting to tease a girl that he likes since he figured his time there had surely turned him cynical, but-

Syaoran froze and this made him lose his grip on the fish he was in the middle of cleaning. The slippery thing all but flew between his fingers before it fell with a resounding thud in the kitchen sink.

He slowly picked it up, a frown on his face as he stared at it absently.

 _Wanting to tease a girl that… I like?_ Syaoran thought. _I like her?!_

Since when did he like her? What would warrant for him to develop those kinds of feelings for her? Maybe he simply mistook his newfound feelings of _appreciating_ the perfectly normal human contact with her as something intimate? There was no way that he would feel something as deep as like or love for an unknown young woman whose practically a stranger to him and whom he had met on a mere accident.

He shook his head to clear his mind. He was getting ahead of himself.

Just because this was the first time in an incredibly long time that he felt genuine enjoyment in the company of a woman, he mistook it for something more serious.

He didn't even have any sort of desire- sexual or not -for her. Though he already knew that that wasn't the hallmark of feelings of like or love, he was sure that it was a necessary thing to feel for a woman if he ever came to have any deep feelings for one.

Since he didn't have that kind of urge for Sakura, then surely…

The sound of a door opening broke his train of thought and he turned around to the source.

Sakura had just stepped out of the bathroom, her long damp hair sticking to her skin. She was wrapped in a fluffy white towel from her breasts down to only a few inches below her butt. This was the first time he had seen her look like this mainly because after showering she would usually come out of the bathroom already dressed in fresh clothes with her hair wrapped up in the towel she was currently using for body cover.

He stared at her unblinkingly more out of shock than anything else. He had never seen her as exposed as this before since all she had to wear were those ugly t-shirts which Eriol chose for him. The sleeves would reach all the way to her elbows and the hem nearly reached her knees and to top it all off, she still wore those board shorts underneath and the length of those usually fitted her like actual full-length pants.

This usual ensemble gave Sakura the appearance like that of a young boy rather than the grown woman that she actually was. It also probably deluded him into thinking that Sakura had a lack of appeal physically but right now it certainly wasn't the case.

As his eyes trailed down her body, he couldn't help but be amazed at her womanly proportions. Those loose shirts she's been wearing had been covering up what would be an otherwise tempting figure. Her breasts weren't exactly huge but they were a size bigger than normal for a girl of her stature, and her waist was trimmer than he thought. Her legs were also definitely longer and smoother than he could have ever imagined.

Clearly, the clothes she had been wearing up to now did absolutely nothing for her.

When she noticed his gaze leave her own only to trail down her body, her skin flushed and it wasn't just her face but even her neck and even down to the top of her breasts which was visible above the towel had also reddened.

"I… I got the c-clothes wet and…" she mumbled whilst gripping the edge of the towel to make sure it didn't pull up to reveal her bare bottom. "I'll go get… uhh… yeah…"

With that she nearly ran back into her room.

Syaoran watched the spot where she had disappeared for a while before finally turning back to the sink and turning off the tap and resting his palms on the edge of the counter.

For the past few weeks, he had felt _something_ stir inside him at certain times like when he thought Sakura looked particularly adorable as she blushed, or when he thought that she looked pretty when she smiled. He had been denying that it had meant anything significant but now he felt that same feeling but in ten-fold and it was hard to deny any more. He finally realized what that feeling was and what it meant.

"Desire," he told himself as he felt that _particular_ part of his body heat up and harden perceptibly.

* * *

"What do you have for me?"

" _Two of them agreed to testify."_

"That's good news but it's still not enough though. If we can't get a retrial…"

" _Yes. Oh and about_ that person _, he purchased a ticket two days ago."_

"Where's he going?"

" _My sources say he's bound for Hong Kong. I still need to confirm the date though."_

"What?!" he said, unable to hide his incredulity. "Why? What purpose did he give?"

" _It's supposedly so he could visit an old friend who invited him to see the sights."_

At this, he couldn't help the laughter that escaped his lips.

" _What do I do?"_

"Keep an even closer eye on him. This is definitely the break we're looking for. Every move he makes, tell me. Keep an eye out for his contacts especially when he reaches Hong Kong."

" _Yes sir."_

With that he withdrew his cell phone from his ear and pressed a finger on the screen to cut the call.

He sat back against his leather chair and couldn't help but grin from ear to ear. If things keep going at the rate it's currently at, then things will get cleared up within the next couple of months. He had expected for this whole ordeal to last a full year at least but apparently that wasn't the case.

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

"Come in," he called out.

"Good morning Mister Hiiragizawa," greeted a woman who looked to be in her 40s. She was wearing a gray suit with a pencil skirt and her premature graying hair was tied neatly in a bun. "You look to be in a good mood today sir."

Eriol turned to the receptionist of his office and flashed a smile.

"I'm in an incredibly good mood," he declared while she bustled into the office and laid out his usual newspapers at the edge of his desk before handing him a stack of notes.

"These are the calls from yesterday afternoon and a few of them earlier this morning."

"Thank you Mrs. Huang," he said appreciatively before tossing the notes to the side and picking up the top newspaper she brought in. "By the way, when Jing gets in, tell him to come in and see me."

"Very well sir. Do you need anything else?"

"That'll be all, thank you."

The older woman bowed politely before she made her leave.

Eriol looked up when the door clicked to a close and sighed. His mood had already deflated as his midnight blue eyes read the large headline written on the newspaper he was holding.

 **3 Years Ago, LI CORPORATION Took A Big Hit…**

 **Now More Bad News for the Multi-Billion Dollar Financial Conglomerate!**

Frowning at this tasteless heading, he tossed the paper across the other side of his desk and picked up another one instead.

 **LI XIAO LANG: Actor, CEO, and Murderer. THE HUNT CONTINUES!**

Eriol had to try and resist rolling his eyes as he read this particular headline before tossing this one aside as well. One would think they'd at least get their facts straight after all this time. He glanced at the remaining newspapers from the pile. They were all business newspapers but they all had the same content with ridiculous headlines that would do a gossip magazine proud and it was all because it involved a big fish in Asia's business world.

With a sigh, Eriol took the next newspaper in hand and immediately, something caught his eye. Though the headline still featured Syaoran's story, one of the subtexts printed beneath this in still large and noticeable text printed something new.

 **Japanese Government's Interest and Involvement…**

 _Japanese government?_ Eriol thought. _Why!?_

At this, Eriol quickly scanned the front page and all the way back to its continuing page at the end of the paper in search for more information regarding this particular detail.

When he finally found what he was looking for however, his frown only got deeper.

 _Japanese national,_ _ **Kinomoto Sakura**_ _(24), employee of_ _ **J-Tel**_ _, Japan's biggest telecommunications company was reportedly missing after going on vacation to South Korea. She was last seen by witness accounts on Jeju Island the very same day that prison escapee_ _ **Li Xiao Lang**_ _(28) was also last seen._

" _There is no evidence that Ms. Kinomoto could have encountered Li but it is highly likely." Ms. Kinomoto's cell phone was apparently recovered from the shallow shores of one of the nearest beaches just south of the island where…_

Eriol stopped reading at that point.

The article simply went on to mention that the Japanese embassy in Seoul have been making a lot of inquiries about the matter since the incident and that there have even been government officials from Japan who have recently traveled to South Korea in order to actively assist the South Korean government with the investigation.

He was honestly surprised by this considering this "Kinomoto Sakura" was just one of their citizens but then again it could probably be just another government ploy so as to make their citizenry think that they actually care about their people more than they care to show… or something of the sort.

All that aside, this posed another problem. Whatever the Japanese government's motives, fact still remained that this Kinomoto Sakura had disappeared with uncanny timing.

Eriol grabbed his phone and checked the calendar. He hadn't been in direct contact with anyone of the people he hired to take care of Syaoran's escape. He wanted to call Fan at least so as to inquire about this Kinomoto Sakura but the risks were too great.

Just about everyone who knew Syaoran knew that he, Eriol, was and is his best friend since they were kids. It wouldn't surprise Eriol if everyone in charge of this situation from the Chinese government to the South Korean government were watching his every move and waiting for the time Syaoran would contact him or vice versa. This was also exactly why he planned for the escape meticulously and very early on.

So he can't possibly ruin things now. He may be _too_ careful at this point but a single call might break everything apart.

Eriol was getting lost in his own thoughts and the only thing that finally broke his concentration was the ringing of his cell phone.

 _ **INCOMING CALL -**_ _ **Daidouji Tomoyo**_

He stared at the name for a while as if his mind had gone blank before he finally pressed a finger on the "Accept" button on the screen.

"Tomoyo, you know I love you right~?" he said the moment the call connected, not even giving his girlfriend of eight years any time to say anything.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Okay so here's the current situation... because I'm overseas, I've been enjoying the change of pace and scenery. I've also been going out more often lately and thus have been neglecting FFN and everything else. Bad of me since I just started uploading this story, I know.

But! I actually already have a couple of chapters done. I just didn't proofread most of them yet. I even (distinctly) remember already proofreading this chapter so I didn't bother reading through it again before uploading this today. But if I'm wrong and you do find mistakes still, then you have my apologies and please do tell me so I can correct it later on.

That said, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter even if it's short (as usual).

I'm just glad Eriol's finally in the mix (and with him, Tomoyo). I love writing conversations with either of them involved. I have the tendency of making their characters the comic reliefs. I can't help it. Whenever I imagine either of them, they naturally come out as being goofy... in a hot/sex/wealthy/perfect way.

I just love them. Eep!

 **Raeny**

P.S. - To those of you who mistakenly thought that Tomoyo was the person Sakura was the talking to on her cell phone in the first chapter, do know (if you haven't noticed) that I referred to that character as "he" therefore the person on the phone was a male (i.e. _not_ Tomoyo).


	6. Are you drunk?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

* * *

 **Chapter Six**

 _ **"Are you drunk?"**_

* * *

"What are you doing?"

Syaoran looked over his shoulder to see Sakura walking towards him, a glass of wine in hand.

He had opened the bottle earlier mainly for her benefit. She had been jumpy and almost impossible to talk to or even deal with at the start of dinner. It was clear to him that she was feeling very nervous and self-conscious about him seeing her wrapped in nothing but a towel. So he opened a bottle of wine on the pretext that the fish would taste better with it though really it was just so she would relax a little.

"You told me before that you wanted to use the TV but you never got around to doing it. I'll show you how to work it so you can use it whenever you like," he said in answer to her question. He had just finished reattaching the wires that have been left disconnected since the last time he had been on Seven which was around five years ago.

"Do I have to connect the wires every time I use it?" Sakura asked with raised brows as she stopped right next to Syaoran. The side of her arm was touching his but she didn't seem to care much. If she were fully sober, Syaoran couldn't help but doubt that she'd let this little thing slide without some kind of exaggerated reaction on her part.

"No, you just need this," he said and raised the remote in front of her face. "After you click the power button here, click this to bring up the settings menu and like I said, since there's no cable, you can only watch DVDs. One you pop one into the player, just choose this option and that's it."

Sakura didn't say anything so Syaoran presumed she understood him.

"The player's right here," he continued and pointed at the machine situated within the wall right beneath the TV. "The DVDs are here."

Syaoran walked over towards the corner where what looked like a thick pillar stood. He placed his hand all the way into the corner where Sakura only just noticed a long and very thin handle was situated. It was inconspicuously placed that she never would have known it was there if he hadn't touched it. He pulled on the knob and this revealed a stack of DVDs that went all the way up to the level of the ceiling.

There were small compartments in there holding twenty or so DVDs each and when Syaoran touched one of it and gave it a little tug downwards, Sakura was surprised when it moved. She looked closer only to notice that there was some kind of belt mechanism that allowed the compartments to rotate from front to back, bringing the compartments above down to eye level.

"It goes both ways so just push a compartment down or pull it up. Go ahead and pick a movie you want to watch."

"You should pick one," she said before giggling a little and downing more of her drink.

Syaoran wouldn't have thought much of this but when she started to look through the glass with one eye as if it were a telescope when there was nothing left inside it, it was clear to him that she was already partially drunk.

"Here, let me take that and you can pick the movie."

With swift movements, Syaoran took the glass from her before she could say anything and returned to the kitchen. He hadn't intended to intoxicate her but then again he didn't expect her to already be like this after only three glasses of red wine and they even had food with it.

Her alcohol tolerance clearly wasn't that high.

Grabbing a new glass and filling it up with water, he went back towards the living room area only to see Sakura already situated on the couch and a movie was already playing on the screen.

This surprised him a little. Maybe she wasn't _that_ drunk.

"Here, drink this," he told her and handed her the glass.

She took it without a word and drank half its contents before giving it back to him.

Syaoran set the glass on the nearby end table before walking around the couch to sit next to her.

"What movie did you choose?"

"I'm not sure but I'm sure I haven't seen it before since I didn't recognize the cover."

As she said this, Syaoran spotted the open DVD case on the coffee table and reached out to get it.

It was a movie released in 2008. Not only that, it was also in English.

"Did you turn on the Japanese subtitles?"

"Why?"

"The movie's in English."

"I don't mind."

"You understand English?

"Yes I do and I can speak it as well."

Sakura said this in English and Syaoran actually couldn't help but feel impressed. She still had an accent but it wasn't too pronounced.

"Not many Japanese people bother to learn English. You surprised me," he said to which she simply shrugged her shoulders rather modestly. "Where do you work?"

This last question escaped his lips before he could stop himself and Sakura looked just as surprised as he was at that very moment.

"I work for J-Tel. Just a simple desk job."

"Telecommunications?"

"Mhmm~!"

Syaoran knew of that company mainly because it was affiliated with Li Corp. at one point… or rather, it _was_. He didn't know what's happening with the company his family owned and ran after being MIA in the last three years and something months that he's been in jail.

"What's wrong?" this question startled Syaoran but what surprised him more was the feel of the tip of her finger which she was currently pressing on the spot between his brows. "You know when you frown, there's this wrinkle shaped like an M that appears right between your brows? It's even more obvious whenever you glare so hard."

She was babbling and he didn't pay attention to a thing she was saying. Sakura had scooted over quite close to where he sat on the couch they were sharing just so she can plant her finger on his head and the distance was a little unnerving.

"Hmm?" Sakura said and leaned even closer to him. Her face was only a few inches away from his now.

He stared at her straight in the eye and when her emerald irises met his amber ones, the carefree laughter slowly dissipated from her face.

"Are you drunk?"

She blinked rapidly in response to this question and shook her head.

Syaoran held Sakura's chin between his thumb and index finger after which he raised her head slightly towards him.

Sakura's eyes slowly widened as the distance between their faces shortened even more. She could feel his breathing and she was sure he could feel hers as well. Her mouth suddenly felt parched despite the fact that she had drunk half a glass of water just now.

"Do you know what I'm about to do?" he asked and his voice was lower and huskier now.

With an audible gulp, she nodded her head slightly.

His gaze finally left her eyes only to descend to her slightly parted mouth. Her lips were still moist from the water and looked incredibly enticing at that very second. One small move and he could easily claim them…

They stayed perfectly still for what felt like hours though in truth only five or so minutes have passed.

"Syaoran," Sakura started to say in a small voice when the man in front of him still refused to make his move. "I-"

" _KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!"_

Sakura jumped out of her skin from the sudden and deafening scream. It was her sudden movement more than the screaming from the TV that surprised Syaoran however as he backed away from her quickly which only made Sakura loose balance, slip from the couch, and fall rather spectacularly to the floor.

" _KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH! GET AWAY! GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP! HELP MEEEE!"_

The screaming continued and the background sound effects were getting more and more ominous and loud that Syaoran reached for the remote on the table to lower the volume.

"T-That scared me!" Sakura said with a hand over her heart. Her breathing was long and quite labored as she attempted to calm herself down. "You didn't say it was a horror movie!"

Her accusation which was directed towards him amused Syaoran greatly and when she finally pulled herself together enough to climb back onto the couch, she accidentally lost balance from her still shaky arm and this deftly brought her back to the ground where she toppled onto her side with an even louder thud.

This sight was too much for Syaoran. It was like watching a comedy skit unfold right before his eyes.

For the first time after many years, he burst out laughing.

* * *

Sakura stole a glance over her shoulder towards the house.

Syaoran was currently inside, cleaning up. After they had lunch, he had insisted on cleaning up by himself and that she just relaxes a little outside. This after he said she looked a little "stressed out" and obviously clueless (or pretending to be) that _he_ was the cause of her stress to begin with.

It has been four days since the embarrassing double fail took place in the living room and not once since then did he attempt to get any closer to her.

Though Sakura really felt the effects of the wine then, she wasn't drunk. Though she had felt lightheaded at the time, she was still aware of what was happening when it happened. She really had thought Syaoran was going to kiss her and she really had wanted for it to happen.

She had rethought her feelings about Syaoran not since that time four days ago but for weeks now. Though she didn't want to admit it, her feelings probably started shifting just a few days after their food supply was restocked… a few days after the big change to his looks.

As much as she wanted to tell herself that she may (or may not) have fallen for Syaoran because he as a person grew on her (which is still true), it was also very true that had he not gotten rid of his facial hair and changed his look completely, she probably wouldn't have considered ever liking him to the degree she felt now.

Her change of opinion and feelings for him simply due to his looks also seemed quite shallow of her but who can blame her though, he was quite scary back then.

But now not only did he look good, even his personality was a pleasant change as well. He smiled more- though she still felt like some of those dashingly handsome smirks were on purpose just to tease her –and he even talked more to her about just about anything. He even _laughed_ out loud, something she never thought would ever happen at least with her around… even if she was the source of his amusement.

 _But there's still the fact that I know virtually_ nothing _about him,_ she reminded herself smartly though this didn't really do much since her heart refused to listen to reason. _And there's also the fact that he abducted me,_ she added though this particular fact only depressed her.

Was it normal to fall in love with a stranger who's also your kidnapper?

 _Of course not,_ Sakura answered her own question in her head quickly and was irritated at herself for having to ask herself the obvious.

But then _why_ in the world had she fallen in love with him?! She always knew she was weird to a certain degree but this has got to be the weirdest thing that has happened to her. It was practically bordering on psychotic. If she were to tell people "Oh, the person I love? Yeah, he kidnapped me once and I don't know much about him. I still love him though!" they will surely think she belonged in a mad house.

Getting even more depressed now, Sakura let out probably the longest sigh ever recorded in history and started to slap her palms on the water when the tide brought it towards her. She was currently sitting on the sand and her clothes had already gotten partially wet from the waves of water coming to shore.

She watched the water come and go for a while as if hypnotized until the movements changed. The water was coming in stronger for some reason as if something fairly large was pushing it.

Sakura glanced up just as a white yacht sailed past the entrance of the cove. It was a good distance away but not far enough. She was quite sure it was heading in the direction of the island.

"Syaoran!" she shouted as she got to her feet all the while not taking her eyes away from the vessel just in case. "SYAORANNNN!"

She heard Syaoran's heavy footsteps quickly run across the patio from behind her and it didn't take long until she heard his steps cross the sand towards her.

"What's-" but he cut off and she could only imagine that he had just seen the boat as well.

"Is it your friends? The ones who delivered the food and things last time?" she asked as she finally tore her gaze away to look at him. She hadn't seen what kind of boat had delivered those boxes from last time or who delivered them so she didn't know what to think of this at all.

His expression was quite serious as he held a hand over his eyes to shield it from the sunlight. He was narrowing his eyes so much it was a wonder if he still saw anything through them.

He clicked his tongue, a little irritated. He didn't recognize the shape of the yacht but it had to be someone who was familiar with Seven since it was coming in from that direction. That was the most dangerous way to get close to the island but it was also the only way. Just like every other area surrounding Seven, the water was intense the closer you get. If your boat was too small or light, you'll easily capsize, if it were too heavy or large, then it'll get caught by the sharp rocks underneath the mouth of the cove. The same thing applies to the time. It'll be impossible to come through the cove unless there was a high enough tide. That was why he was confident that no one would easily reach him there.

"It's coming closer," Sakura said and she unconsciously walked over to Syaoran to stand next to him.

Syaoran watched as the boat sped up towards them but right before it got close enough, a large tide of water forcefully swept it back out.

The yacht nearly tipped to its side that Sakura gasped in horror and grabbed onto Syaoran's arm.

It stopped moving with its engine but the tide was slowly pushing it back to sea bit by bit and it wasn't until few minutes passed before the yacht started sailing back a good distance away again.

"Is it-" Sakura was about to ask if the boat was leaving but then she saw it make a sharp and rather reckless looking turn before it came speeding back towards them. Now she was quite sure that whoever the people in the boat were had no intention at all of giving up.

Syaoran sighed and slowly lowered himself to the ground. He motioned for Sakura to follow him.

"It's better to just sit down. This will take a while."

He sounded so sure of himself that Sakura wondered if he knew something she didn't.

The pair of them watched as whoever was driving the yacht try and fail, and try… and fail… and try… and fail… and try again… and fail again…

When again it was about to do another attempt, Syaoran straightened up a little.

"It's going to make it this time."

Again, he sounded confident.

She turned around to the yacht just as it started to speed up towards them again.

When the vessel got close, it swerved slightly to the left just in time to catch a strong wave, as if it was surfing it just before it swerved back into its original path.

Sakura couldn't help but gape as the yacht slammed back onto the water with a huge and violent splash before it continued its way towards them. It finally reached beyond the two pillars marking the entrance of the cove.

The yacht began slowing down as it approached the center area of the water and when the engine finally died, screaming could instantly be heard.

"-NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN! WE COULD'VE DIED!"

The sound of the woman screaming amazed Sakura. Whoever it was, it was clear she was incredibly angry.

"DO YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH?! IF YOU WANT TO BE EATEN BY THE SHARKS SO BAD THEN GO AHEAD! DON'T TAKE ME WITH YOU!"

The woman's voice was starting to get louder and much clearer as the tide slowly brought the yacht closer to them.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Okay? I just thought I got it that last time!"

This time it was a man's voice and though he too was screaming and apologizing, Sakura could tell the lack of sincerity in his tone.

"LAST TIME?! YOU DID IT SIX TIMES! _SIX_ TIMES! YOU SHOULD'VE LEFT IT TO THE PROFESSIONAL! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! YOU'RE A DAMNED LAWYER NOT SOME DAREDEVIL!"

"Syaoran's a-"

"HE PRACTICALLY LIVED ON THESE ISLANDS FOR YEARS! OF COURSE SYAORAN CAN DO IT!"

Sakura's eyes were now as wide as saucers. She glanced over at Syaoran who now had a hand over his face.

"Uhmm…" but before she could ask if the passengers of the yacht were his friends, she was distracted by the sound of splashing when the yacht's anchor dropped into the water. She turned towards it again just as a beautiful young woman appeared on the deck.

Her ashen black hair was incredibly long Sakura figured it must reach her waist had she left it hanging instead of the braid it was currently styled in. She was wearing a simple lavender sundress with white floral patterns printed over it matched with round white-rimmed sunglasses, a sunhat with a huge white bow tied around it and a pair of white woven wedge sandals. Though Sakura couldn't see her face clearly, judging from the milky white complexion of her exposed arms and calves, she could tell that this person was beautiful.

The young woman seemed flustered and was looking around her until she apparently spotted them. She waved a slender arm in the air.

Sakura turned to Syaoran who waved back at her.

Inwardly, Sakura couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy.

Whoever this person was, she looked incredibly chic that Sakura actually felt embarrassed for breathing the same air as her.

"Let's go in for now," Syaoran told Sakura before he started walking back towards the house.

Sakura watched Syaoran leave then looked back towards the yacht where the young woman was still facing in their direction. She had taken off her sunglasses and though she was too far for Sakura to tell where her gaze was directed precisely, she had a gut feeling that she was staring right at her.

Looking down at her partially wet clothes, Sakura blushed and immediately turned round to follow after Syaoran.

First order of business, she needed to change. She may not have decent clothing but she could at least change into something more suitable than what she was wearing now.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I so adore Tomoyo and Eriol. They're too cute! And I'm not just talking about how I write them to be.

Anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

I'll try and update sooner than I have this time around. I'm currently in Florida and I'll be here for a while so I've been out of it where writing and updating is concerned. I'm pretty sure I can't write anything (decent) here so it's a good thing I still have a couple of chapters leftover from what I've written before I got here. I can't update too often but I'll be sure not to keep you guys waiting months at a time though. Scout's (though I'm not one) honor!

'Til the next update!

Oh, and thank you loads to those who reviewed/favorited/followed this story. You guys are awesome!

 **Raeny**


	7. Be grateful I'm here now!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

* * *

 **Chapter Seven**

 _ **"Be grateful I'm here now!"**_

* * *

Nothing.

She had absolutely _nothing_ that looked remotely decent on her.

Sakura was currently in her room, rummaging through the few clothes Syaoran spared for her. Nearly all of them had a weird design and they all fit her very loosely.

Giving up, she took the simplest looking shirt (this one had a fluffy cartoon monster shaped like a worm printed at the bottom) and shorts combo and just slipped them on before falling back onto her bed and hugging one of her pillows.

She should just stay inside and not show herself, especially not to that girl. If Sakura stood too close or even came anywhere near her, Syaoran will surely come to his senses. Though she still didn't know if he even had any real feelings for her, what little chance Sakura might have had will surely evaporate as soon as he sees how different Sakura was from-

"It's great to see you Syaoran! It's been too long!"

It's her. Judging from the pleasant tone of her voice, Sakura was sure it was that beauty from the deck of the yacht.

Sakura lowered her pillow form her face and strained her ear. Whoever these visitors were, they had just entered the house.

"Woah, you're huge. Did you spend the last three years locked up in a gym instead?"

The second voice was male and sounded like the same person Sakura heard shouting from the yacht.

So there was one guy and two girls?

The very thought made Sakura feel even more miserable. If that one girl she saw looked that good, she could only imagine how equally good looking the second one would be, even if her screaming indicated a frightening personality.

Sakura groaned and rolled over the bed.

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

"Sakura?"

She stiffened.

"Y-Yes?" she called back nervously.

"Can you come out? My friends want to meet you."

As he said this, Sakura heard one of the girls squeal. Judging by the pitch of her voice, it was probably the one who had been screaming in the yacht earlier.

"I… I'm coming!"

Sakura pushed herself off the bed and darted towards the vanity. She still looked like crap but really what else can she do about it? Her eyes landed on her lip balm and she quickly reapplied a coat on her lips.

When she finished doing this, she grabbed her hairbrush and started yanking it through her tresses. She felt it snag painfully in her hair and she inwardly cursed the fact that she spent hours enjoying the windy breeze earlier.

Not long after, Sakura gave up and tossed the brush over to the bed and decided to just run her fingers through her hair instead, all the while hoping this will flatten her hair enough to look at least a _little_ decent.

Really, these were about the _only_ things she could do.

Breathing in deeply and exhaling just as much, Sakura finally walked over to the door… where she repeated this act four more times before finally turning the knob.

When she pulled open the door, Syaoran was standing there, partially leaning against the door frame.

"Are you okay?" as he asked this, Sakura felt embarrassed. Did he know that she was nervous?

"I'm fine," she said though she really didn't believe herself when the words left her mouth.

Syaoran pushed himself off the frame and turned around to look at her. There was a slight surprised look in his face as his eyes travelled to her hair and Sakura couldn't help but blush at this.

Did it look that bad? Now she wished she just kept it in its usual ponytail. It was probably obvious to him now that she felt self conscious about her appearance and hurriedly made a poor effort of trying to fix herself as a result.

"Don't worry," he then said with a hint of a smile on his lips. "They're a bit weird but they're harmless."

"Oi, we heard that!"

Syaoran rolled his eyes and stepped aside.

The first person Sakura saw was a very handsome and finely dressed man who looked to be around Syaoran's age. He was wearing loafers, khaki shorts and a white button shirt he left unbuttoned at the top. He also had visor shades which were currently pushed back atop his head through his silky looking blue-black hair. He was nearly the same height and he even somehow exuded the same aura as Syaoran despite their difference in appearance.

Syaoran didn't lose to this man in looks but his appearance was hard… tough. This man gave a more refined and gentle exterior.

A smile was on his face, though it looked more mischievous than friendly and a sort of calculating twinkle could almost be seen in his midnight blue eyes.

Sakura immediately took back her earlier thoughts of this man being "gentle." Looking at his face more closely now, he reminded her painfully of the Cheshire cat from _Alice in Wonderland_.

When their eyes met, he flashed Sakura an even wider grin which made her blush in embarrassment and lower her head.

"Miss Kinomoto Sakura, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," he said in a surprisingly pleasant manner and he nodded his head in her direction. "I've heard quite a bit about you, my name is Hiiragizawa Eriol."

"N-Nice to meet you… too?"

After saying this, she turned to look at Syaoran unsurely, her embarrassment gone and confusion taking its place. What did he mean? Where had he heard about her? It couldn't have been from Syaoran considering these guests have literally just arrived.

Syaoran was already shooting Eriol a glare but the latter didn't seem at all fazed by it which Sakura thought was an indication of how close they were. Unless they had considerable exposure and were used to it, anyone would have flinched away from Syaoran if that kind of look was directed at them.

"Ahem~!"

The trio turned to the source of this voice simultaneously.

There she was, the young woman from earlier and this time she wasn't wearing her hat or her sunglasses. How that she was standing so close, Sakura thought she looked even better. Her eyes were a brilliant shade of amethyst and her face looked very gentle, befitting a rich young lady.

Sakura subconsciously ran a hand through her hair. "H-Hello, my name is Kinomoto Sakura, it's nice-"

"It's nice to meet you too!" she cut in as she swooped towards Sakura and gave her a tight hug. "My name is Daidouji Tomoyo. I'm twenty-five years old. How old are you Sakura? I can call you Sakura right? You're very beautiful, and your eyes… green! Wow, are you half? My mother actually is a-"

Someone else cleared their throat and Tomoyo pulled away with a frown on her face.

"You're overwhelming her Tomoyo," Syaoran said.

Sakura was indeed overwhelmed by the amount of what she had just said. She hadn't expected her to be this… friendly? Tomoyo looked quite demure that Sakura thought she was the silent type but it seemed like she was the total opposite.

"Hmm?" Tomoyo said, still looking at Sakura with apparent interest and apparently unfazed by what Syaoran said.

Eriol looked from Tomoyo to Sakura and back again before clearing his throat.

"Neh, Tomoyo, why don't you show Sakura the interior of the yacht? You two can use that time to get to know each other. I bet she's depraved of some girly bonding too. She's been stuck on this island with only Syaoran for company after all. You two can even go for a swim or something."

Tomoyo clasped her hands together as he said this, clearly liking the idea and she turned to Sakura.

"What do you think? It took hours just to get here I kind of want to take a dip to cool down~"

"Uhm… sure," Sakura said with a little smile.

There was no doubt about it. Though she only just spoke to Tomoyo, somehow she can see that this girl was genuinely kind.

She turned to Syaoran but he was looking at Eriol and giving the other man a kind of suspicious look which was met with feigned ignorance.

"Yay! Let's go!"

"It's just the two of you?"

When she said this, three pairs of eyes looked at Sakura questioningly.

"The woman we heard earlier," she told Syaoran, "the one we heard screaming about-"

Eriol burst out laughing at this.

"AND WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE LAUGHING ABOUT HUH?!"

Sakura gawked at Tomoyo. So the woman screaming from the boat was her all along?! She was throwing a very cold look at Eriol that it was a wonder he hadn't flinched away.

"SHUT UP! I WAS SCREAMING IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE OF YOU!"

Tomoyo was a little flushed now, either from embarrassment or strain from her screaming.

Sakura guessed it was the latter.

"I'm sorry, I love you but this is just too funny," Eriol admitted with even more laughter even though Tomoyo was now punching him on the chest. She looked like she was giving it all her strength too.

Sakura looked at them and didn't know what to think. Tomoyo was clearly distressed but Eriol seemed to enjoy it. He also said he loves her? So they were going out? Even if it didn't really seem that way at the moment.

She turned to look at Syaoran and tugged his sleeve.

"Did I say something wrong?" she asked in a low voice.

He shook his head. "Like I said, they're a bit weird."

* * *

Syaoran stood next to the window with his hands in his pant pockets. Tomoyo and Sakura had already gone to the yacht and was nowhere in sight from where he stood.

"So? Mind telling me about her?"

Eriol was sitting on one of the stools situated next to the kitchen island, a glass of wine in hand. He was looking at Syaoran pointedly, waiting for him to start expounding on the current situation which he was clearly very much interested in.

"Fan didn't tell me much except that a girl he didn't recognize was brought to this island with you. He also said you were quite shocked after you were told that she had been brought along. Oh, and he also said that you had her sister buy a few things she might need while she's here which is very considerate of you by the way."

With a sigh Syaoran turned his gaze away from the shoreline and headed towards Eriol who had just poured another glass with wine and handed it over to him.

"Well that's basically the story."

"I ran into Sakura on Jeju Island. The guy you hired to help me escape got separated from me so I stole her phone in order to contact those brothers on the fishing boat. Long story short, she chased after me and ended up hitching a ride without me knowing about it. Fan expected to take me and another person to Seven so he thought that other person was Sakura. I'm assuming that other guy is alright?"

Eriol waved a hand carelessly at this. "Yong-in knew the plan. I also gave him another way out in case you did get separated along the way. There weren't any news of him getting caught so I say it worked out well for him too."

They fell into silence for a while but seeing as Syaoran was with _Hiiragizawa_ Eriol, quite possibly the chattiest person he knew, it was broken quite easily and with a jibe directed towards him at that.

"So you _accidentally_ abducted a young woman… without knowing."

Syaoran scowled at him as he said this.

"Well you can't say that it isn't true," he said with a shrug. "And I don't think I need to tell you that when this gets out, it's really going to hurt any chance you've got in the first place."

Syaoran didn't say anything to this. He already knew this much the moment his eyes landed on Sakura in the yacht on the way there.

"What have you got for me?" he asked instead, deciding its best not to think about it. What's done is done after all.

"Some good news at least," Eriol said in a much lighter tone now. " _He_ is on the move. Just last week we found out that he bought a ticket bound for Hong Kong in five weeks. He's supposedly traveling to see a friend. I think we really found our guy but we still don't have sufficient evidence."

"Not as good as I had hoped but it's better than nothing."

"But on the bright side," he continued with a grin, "he seems to be a total amateur. I'm sure with the right strings, things will blow up in his face in time. I'm just waiting things out until I get a grasp on what he's trying to do exactly. I'll decide on the best course of action after that."

But Syaoran wasn't smiling. Though the news Eriol brought wasn't as good as he might have hoped, the look on his face was still that of someone really bothered by one thing or another.

"I'm still not convinced," he finally said a while later. "He really doesn't seem the type to pull off this kind of crime. I did a lot of thinking about the entire thing and it all seemed well thought-out. And now you're saying he's making things worse for himself. It's like he reverted back to an amateur. How could he have pulled off blaming me for the murder if he's actually _this_ careless?"

With a thoughtful expression, Eriol couldn't help but think the same. That's what he thought at first too but then again…

"He's only human," he said with a shrug. "The fact that you escaped must have really rattled him. He must be screwing up now because of panic. Ever since news of your escape was publicized, people won't shut up about it. Maybe he's worried that the case would be reinvestigated and reopened."

Syaoran didn't say anything to this. He just continued sipping at his glass while looking deep in thought.

"There are other more pressing things to worry about too. For one thing, what are you planning to do about Sakura? I get that you didn't let her leave since her word will be against you but-"

"She still doesn't know."

"Know? Know what? About you?!" Eriol looked and sounded incredulous. "But she clearly knows your name. Don't tell me she…?"

Syaoran nodded and even more disbelief appeared on Eriol's handsome face.

"Trust you to abduct quite possibly the lone woman in Asia who hasn't heard about you," he said, now amused. "That would explain how she acted earlier… huh…"

Silence fell between them for a while before Eriol spoke again and this time he sounded a little hesitant. "Oh, and I can't say for sure but… doesn't it look like that she-"

"She does."

Eriol blinked.

"So she really does like you? Did she actually tell you?!" he demanded, looking a little incredulous. "You didn't _do_ anything to her while you two were stuck here all this time, have you?! You know I never dissuade you in any way where women are concerned but as to _this_ particular woman, as your lawyer, I _sincerely_ advise you not to do anything. It would complicate things even-"

"I didn't touch her," Syaoran interrupted yet again and this time he rolled his eyes before downing what was left of his drink. "Nothing happened between us. At one point something _almost_ happened but it was something minor and nothing ended up happening anyway."

Eriol sighed, clearly relieved.

"Don't exaggerate."

At this statement Eriol raised a brow at Syaoran.

" _Who's_ the one in a bind here? I'm only thinking about your best interests."

It was Syaoran's turn to raise a brow at Eriol.

"You're lucky to have me as a best friend you know," Eriol added rather conceitedly.

"Yeah, yeah."

* * *

"Oh you look gorgeous!"

Tomoyo's eyes were positively glittering with happiness as she slowly moved away from Sakura who was currently sitting on a chair. A large sheet was spread out beneath the legs to catch the hair that had been constantly falling to the ground since she sat there.

"Want to see?"

Sakura nodded nervously as Tomoyo helped her up to her feet and started dragging her across the room.

They reached the closet and Tomoyo swung it open. The body-length mirror screwed onto the back of the door stopped right in front of Sakura.

Her eyes widened but it was mostly due to amazement at Tomoyo's handiwork than her surprise that she could actually look _this_ good.

She didn't know that fixing up her hair could make this much of a difference.

True, her hair has already been neglected even before she got to the island. Her bangs in particular had already grown out quite a bit even before she went on vacation in South Korea. It was still bearable though. But since arriving on the island with Syaoran, it got even worse. Plus, the products she usually used back home also weren't available to her here. There's also the fact that she always tied her hair in a messy ponytail, even in her sleep. The only time she probably ever let her hair down was this very day when she tried to make it look "decent" earlier.

"Your hair's amazingly thick and luscious you know," Tomoyo said from behind her and their eyes met through the mirror's reflection. "Just needed a little perking up. All I did was cut your bangs, trimmed the ends, and put in a bit of treatment. There wasn't any need to do much more than that."

"Thank you," Sakura said sincerely. She thought Tomoyo was just being nice by saying that. After all, her hair hasn't looked this good in a while so it must be something she did rather than the natural condition of her locks.

"Okay, next!" Tomoyo exclaimed with a grin and she all but pounced at Sakura and immediately started tugging at the baggy clothes she was wearing.

"Wha- wha- whaaa?!"

* * *

"You should get Tomoyo to trim your hair," Eriol commented. "This look does suit you but it feels weird. Feels like I'm talking to your dad."

"How'd he take the news of my escape?"

At this, Eriol chuckled.

"You know how sharp that guy is. He called me out when news first broke out. Pretty sure he knows I have a lot to do with it so he didn't ask me about what I knew. He's probably hoping all this will mean a turnaround not only for you but for the company as well. Li Corp.'s taken a big hit since your arrest and the old man's been managing it as best as possible but I'm sure he's hoping all this can finally be put behind us."

Syaoran couldn't help but think about his family and his family's company now.

He hadn't spoken with his family since he landed himself in prison. At the time, he had immediately sent them word through Eriol to not bother getting in contact with him. It was best that they have as little to do with each other as possible during his incarceration.

Eriol, being his lawyer, also couldn't help but agree to this. This not only saved face for the rest of the Li family and the company itself if it pretended to condemn the heir to the large empire, but it'll also help Syaoran in the long run when they plan for his escape. Three years of neglect from his family will make them least susceptible to questioning and doubt of their involvement. Even Eriol himself didn't contact Syaoran much and even when he did, it was only to put up a show while in his first year in jail that his job as his lawyer was over.

He had already planned on Syaoran's eventual escape the moment he had been sentenced to jail. All he did was have the parties involved trust all that he had been doing all this time without giving them the details. The least they knew about it, the more chances it will succeed.

"What are you grinning about?"

At this question, Eriol turned to him and grinned even wider. "Just thinking about how amazing I am."

Syaoran had to suppress a sigh. Clearly, Eriol hadn't changed in the slightest these past years. He didn't know whether to be happy or saddened about this.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, _why_ are you here with Tomoyo? It was already surprising enough that you came here at all. What happened to keeping a low profile? And you even brought her with you."

Eriol gave a kind of mischievous snigger.

"It's because we're here on the pretense of an engagement getaway."

Both men turned to the door at this. Tomoyo had just strolled inside with a frown on her face.

"Engagement?" Syaoran echoed.

"Pretense?!" Eriol said at the same time.

Tomoyo threw a hard glare in Eriol's direction.

"I'm happy you took me here Eri since I get to see Syaoran and meet Sakura," she admitted with a frown. "But this trip isn't something I'd call _appropriate_ for an engagement getaway. Since I'm nice, I still accept your proposal but you owe me another trip… one that doesn't involve you trying to get us killed."

Syaoran shot Eriol a look. "So that's how you managed to get this far without being suspected of getting into contact with me? You proposed to Tomoyo as cover?"

"What?" he said with a shrug. "It was inevitable that Tomoyo and I got engaged and married anyway. Even if the timing was less than romantic, it was useful at least."

Again, Syaoran was amazed at his best friend's twisted logic. This was one other prime example as to how he felt both impressed and at a loss with regards to Eriol's manner of thinking.

"Oh don't worry about it Syaoran. I already suspected something like this from him anyway," Tomoyo said with a careless wave of her hand.

"And you're okay with that of course," Syaoran said as he tried very hard not to roll his eyes at her. "Really Tomoyo, you're the only person weird enough to go out with this guy… and vice versa."

Eriol flashed Syaoran a grin while Tomoyo only looked confused.

"Ah, ah, never mind that," Tomoyo suddenly said with a shake of her head before her took on a hint of excitement. "Why don't you guys join me and Sakura outside?" Before either of them could say anything, however, Tomoyo went on to say, "and by the way Syaoran, how can you treat Sakura like this?"

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? Those horrid clothes! Not only are they _obviously_ for guys, I checked the brand on them and they were from _Kaiju-Mon_!"

"We're not exactly in walking distance to a shopping mall Tomoyo," Syaoran pointed out. "And _who_ do you think sent me those clothes?!"

 _Kaiju-Mon_ was a popular Japanese-based brand which sold a variety of things from clothes to stuffed animals. It was popular amongst children, teenagers, and even a few young adults mainly because of the more than two dozen or so weird looking mascots the brand had.

This was also Eriol's favorite brand and remains a big thorn on Tomoyo's side for many years now.

"Not only are most of the clothes this guy left here for me are from _Kaiju-Mon_ , they didn't even fit me right," Syaoran continued. "I'm just glad Fan included a couple of clothes for me when he came back to resupply the food a couple of weeks ago. I assume he already knew most of the clothes Eriol had brought in before I got here was shit and-"

"How was I to know you'd come out of jail a gym rat?" Eriol countered. "You-"

"Anyway, Sakura didn't have anything else to wear anyway and she didn't seem to mind the design," he continued, thoroughly ignoring Eriol.

Tomoyo huffed, clearly still disapproving before turning on her heel and heading out the door again.

"Well, be grateful I'm here now!" she said rather simply. "Sakura's waiting at the yacht. Let's have a snack there and go for a swim together."

Both men didn't say anything and simply followed after her. All three of them had been friends since they were children and after so many years of friendship and being together, they knew better than to try and argue with Tomoyo about _anything_.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Again, sorry for the lack of frequent updates. This chapter is still another one of the few I finished before coming to Florida (I still haven't gotten the chance to write anything while being here) and like the previous chapter, I didn't get the chance to proof read this one either before putting it up. So if you spot any mistakes, please try to look past them (I know, I'm terrible). I'll be sure to try and fix it up on a later date.

Anyway I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to upload another chapter soon-ish!

Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	8. As if nothing ever happened…

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Hey guys! SO SORRY for the very late update. Ahhh!

I'm still on vacation at the moment but I'll be traveling home ( _ **22** hour flight_. UGH) next week. I thought about uploading the next chapters by then but then I suppose it has been too long since I put one up so here it is and I hope you enjoy it!

* * *

 **Chapter Eight**

 _ **"As if nothing ever happened…"**_

* * *

Syaoran poured the orange juice into the glass slowly all the while glancing at Sakura's direction. Something he had been doing a _lot_ of since his eyes landed on her when he and Eriol came to the yacht at Tomoyo's suggestion.

She wasn't wearing the loose clothes he had gotten used to see her wearing, but instead she was wearing a simple white dress made of a very light flow-y material. It was clearly one of Tomoyo's and it looked great on Sakura. It fit her very nicely and in all the right places that Syaoran was forcefully reminded that she was actually a woman with a body that had much to be desired.

When he caught himself staring at her legs which were currently bared all the way up to her thigh due to the way she was sitting, Syaoran had to forcefully raise his gaze away from it until it landed onto her hair instead.

She had a large white flower ornament pinned on it just over her right ear while the rest of her honey brown tresses were left down. After all this time, he had only seen her wear her hair down twice since Sakura preferred wearing it up. Once when she got out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel and once when she came out of her bedroom earlier that afternoon. But right now, her hair looked completely different.

Earlier, her hair looked messy and though Syaoran thought it kind of made her look cute, this time it was finely brushed down and it even looked silkier as it fell down in waves to the middle of her back. She also had a fringe now and it only complimented her facial proportions more.

He had already thought Sakura was naturally good-looking. It was already obvious considering the unique combination of her hair and eye color and the fact that she still managed to look good despite her lack of trying. In normal circumstances, no woman would look good make-up free, with grown out hair always in ponytails while wearing loose, badly designed clothes. But she did… and he was sure he thought this not because he just forgot the beauty of a female after being depraved of them for years.

Syaoran didn't realize how much of a difference was made on Sakura just from giving a little effort to looking good. He couldn't even imagine how different and more gorgeous she'd look if she wore even just a little makeup.

He mentally shook his head at the thought. Since that night they almost kissed, he had been trying his hardest to avoid situations like that from happening again. He was simply not in the position to do anything with her and here he was, actually fueling the fire.

Exhaling slowly, he managed to calm himself and finally push back his unnecessary thoughts and feelings. He picked up the glass he had just filled and went back to Sakura's side.

She turned to him as she heard him approach and accepted the drink with a smile.

"Thank you," she said in a small voice before turning her gaze back to the water when a loud splash resounded nearby.

Eriol had just jumped in from the second floor of the yacht and Tomoyo was floating along not far from where he landed. She was riding a pool float shaped and designed like a sprinkled donut.

Sofas lined the entire back deck of the yacht and Syaoran leaned over the back of the one he and Sakura were sitting on to address the pair down below.

"Not sick of the water yet?"

"Even if I am, I'm not planning on coming out of it anytime soon. You know the last time I've gone swimming was the summer of last year?" Tomoyo shouted up at him whilst still floating along and looking very relaxed. "Who knows when the next time will be? So I'm making the most out of this."

"I haven't been anywhere near the ocean for three years 'til I got here," Syaoran reminded her but Tomoyo simply waved her hand at him, clearly not thinking much of this.

"What does Tomoyo do?" Sakura asked, sounding quite curious.

"She's a fashion designer," Syaoran told her. "She always had a penchant for fashion for as long as I can remember."

That did explain a lot as far as Sakura was concerned. The amount and variety of clothes she had in the closet was amazing considering she said she and Eriol were apparently only staying for five days.

Inwardly, Sakura wondered if she should ask Syaoran about this.

When Tomoyo told her this, Sakura had also asked her when Syaoran was leaving the island. Tomoyo didn't answer this but she did give Sakura a kind of apologetic look and simply said "Let's not talk about these things for now, ne?"

"Where did you meet them?" Sakura finally decided to ask instead. This was obviously not the question she wanted to ask but this was one of the things she was curious about.

Ever since she met Syaoran and found out he wasn't Japanese, she had wondered why he was so fluent at it. The answer was obviously Eriol and Tomoyo but now she was getting more and more curious about other finer details about him.

"Eriol's father is Japanese but his mother is Chinese and a cousin of my mother. He's the only relative I have whose my age so we were always together since we were children. As for Tomoyo, her family's company has had a long affiliation with my family's company. Even if she lived in Japan, she and her family always came to visit and she just kind of got stuck with us every time because she was close to us in age."

Hearing this story, Sakura was reminded that she really didn't know much about Syaoran at all. For one thing, she still didn't know what he or his family did for a living. She had always been curious and the feeling only intensified.

She bit her lip.

"What are you thinking?"

This question startled her a little and she turned to look at him. Syaoran's amber gaze- something she was still not used to despite having taken the habit of staring at them a lot more than usual lately -was already focused on her and she couldn't help the blush on her cheeks.

Was she really that readable?

"Just thinking about how I really don't know much about you," she admitted truthfully.

To her surprise, an apologetic expression appeared on Syaoran's face, much like the one Tomoyo had when Sakura asked her about when Syaoran was leaving the island.

Syaoran didn't say anything more after this and Sakura found herself unable to say any more either.

Silence filled the air between them that Sakura felt like she was being suffocated by it.

"Hmm? What's wrong with you two?"

The pair of them turned towards the ladder that led down to the water. Eriol had just climbed up from it and apparently neither of them noticed.

"Nothing," Syaoran said easily. "You guys done yet? It's going to get dark soon. We should get dinner ready."

Eriol looked at Syaoran and though the look on his face was unreadable, he understood his intentions. When they were talking by themselves earlier, he had asked Eriol to help ease the truth of the situation with Sakura… or at least _some_ portion of the _necessary_ truth.

From their discussion, though there wasn't a definite time as to when Syaoran could leave Seven, he knew the time was coming soon. If _that guy_ really was on the move, then surely things will come to a close soon. This also meant a stop to this undisturbed lifestyle with just him and Sakura on the island.

* * *

"I still feel bad that Fan had to eat by himself in the yacht," Tomoyo pointed out while glancing towards the window. Light could be seen from a few of the windows of the lower deck of the yacht. "He did save me after all."

Eriol had to resist from retorting to this statement and pointing out the fact that she wasn't in any immediate danger when he was driving the yacht earlier. He didn't want to fall into another argument with his fiancée though it wouldn't really have bothered him if they did start arguing again. In fact, he actually liked arguing with Tomoyo. Just that at this particular time, it was best to start off in a more serious note.

He glanced over at Syaoran who was already looking at him and nodded.

Clearing his throat audibly, Eriol turned to Sakura who was sitting to his left.

They had already finished eating dinner and had been engaging in casual conversation since then. The atmosphere wasn't tense or awkward but it was clear that everyone currently seated around the square dining table had one thing or another they wanted but couldn't say.

"Hey Sakura, what do you do for work?" Eriol asked though he already knew the answer to this from the article he read about her days ago.

"Just office work at a telecommunications company in Japan."

Eriol nodded at this. "You've been gone for a while now though. Would they think you've gone AWOL?"

At this, Sakura wondered what Eriol was getting on about but after glancing at Tomoyo and Syaoran's faces and seeing their expressions, it was immediately clear to her that they were trying to ease her into the topic they wanted to discuss.

"Probably," she said truthfully. "I'll still have my job when I get back though."

"Oh?"

"Just a gut feeling," Sakura added and she even smiled a little.

"That's good to hear Sakura," Tomoyo said and she not only sounded sincere as she said this, she even looked it.

Deep down, though Sakura still knew very little with regards to Syaoran and their current situation, she knew that he and his friends weren't completely bad people. If they were, much worse could've have happened to Sakura by now.

Under normal circumstances, she would have been dead by now after being abducted. If not, then she would have been raped or abused in some way at the very least. But Syaoran didn't even touch her… even if she wanted him to.

This was a mark of a good person and Eriol and Tomoyo were clearly just like Syaoran in that regard.

"It's fine," Sakura finally said. A small smile was still lingering at the corners of her lips. "I know you guys are trying to ease me into talking about something or another, but you can just come right out and tell me. I'm grateful for the thought though."

Tomoyo looked at Eriol and he looked at Syaoran who was now looking pointedly at Sakura.

Sakura looked back at Syaoran and shrugged her shoulders, still with a smile.

Syaoran sighed and nodded at Eriol.

"Okay, well, here's the thing Sakura…" Eriol said in a more business-like tone now. "Syaoran basically has to keep himself hidden. That's why he was taken to this island in secret in the first place. The fact that you got involved was purely by accident. You weren't taken here for any particular reason, just that if you hadn't been brought here with him at the time, things would have gotten complicated and messy for him. So, we apologize for getting you inadvertently involved but do know that it wasn't for any bad intention. It's really for Syaoran's own safety. You get that though, right? I mean, if you really were kidnapped for any ill reason, worse things could have happened to you by now."

"Is that necessary?" Tomoyo said with a disapproving frown at Eriol.

"I'm only stating the truth though," Eriol told her and for once, Sakura noticed his seriousness.

The way Eriol and Tomoyo spoke to each other made it seem like Eriol was a pushover who never took anything too seriously. At the moment however, he seemed completely serious and Tomoyo seemed to completely respect him as well. It was at that point that Sakura felt that Eriol seemed kind of intimidating.

"I understand," Sakura said with a nod at Eriol. "And yes I have thought that already. That's why I calmed down to a degree since I was brought here. If I knew my life was in danger, I'm sure I wouldn't have gotten this relaxed."

"Okay," Eriol said and this time, he smiled at her. "Now, tell me honestly… how much do you know about Syaoran?"

Sakura glanced at Syaoran at this. He was currently leaning back against his chair and was already looking out of the nearby window. It was as if he wasn't paying attention but she was sure he was.

"Not… Not much," she finally answered when she turned back to Eriol. "Just the basic stuff he told me like his name and that he worked for his family's company until three years ago. He doesn't really talk about himself."

She wasn't sure if this was what he meant. Though Eriol's question just now sounded simple, it felt to her that he had meant something deeper for some reason.

But Eriol simply nodded. He was about to get on with his point but apparently Sakura wasn't finished.

"There's also the stuff that I found out for myself too I guess," she said just in case that meant anything. "Like how he sleeps relatively late but still wakes up so early, and that he always drinks a whole glass of water before starting a meal, and he hates mixing his soup with his rice … oh and he also has this habit of steaming up the inside of the shower stall for a few minutes before getting in- ah…"

When she realized that she was babbling now and that they were all looking at her, Syaoran included, she shut up immediately and dropped her gaze.

"Sorry," she mumbled, very embarrassed. Her face seemed to react in kind seeing as her entire face was now a dark shade of red.

Eriol looked at Sakura, a little alarmed. She had been stuck with Syaoran for seven weeks and though this was quite a bit of time, it wouldn't have been possible for her to learn this much about him if she hadn't given him a certain degree of attention… and interest.

He glanced over at the man in question. Though Syaoran usually held his face void of most expression- a habit he picked up over the years for various reasons from the careers he's had -currently he had a look of surprise he quite obviously had trouble completely concealing. And if Eriol weren't wrong, he also looked quite… pleased. Somehow, there was a hint of something like approval in the way he looked at Sakura.

"Oh Sakura," Tomoyo, who was sitting across from her, looked to be ready in tears.

Sakura looked at her, confused with the other girl's reaction.

Again, Eriol cleared his throat.

"Anyway, Sakura… like I said, we apologize for getting you into all this and I know this might sound unreasonable but I hope you can bear with it for a little while longer. This may be asking a lot from an innocent bystander of all this but we promise no harm will come to you. And from how things are going, you'll only have to stay here for only another month or two… three at most," Eriol said with promise, a reassuring smile on his face. "After that, you can go home and back to your old life as if none of this ever happened."

Sakura looked back at him, her mind blank.

* * *

Syaoran's brows raised slowly higher and higher the more he read the article.

It was the morning of Eriol and Tomoyo's second day on Seven and the men were currently in one of the rooms in the yacht. They, with the help of Fan, had unloaded all the boxes of fresh supplies for Syaoran and Sakura that they had brought with them and the girls were now in the middle of putting them away.

"Why are they so involved in this?"

Syaoran had just asked the very same question Eriol thought when he first read the article. There were many newspapers of interest involving Syaoran's case ever since his escape but Eriol only brought with him a dozen or so of those newspapers to show him and all of which were those stating the possible link between Syaoran and Sakura and the fact that the Japanese government was getting involved.

"Even if they're just speculating, why would they do this much especially just for one girl?"

"You got me. I was wondering the same thing when I read about this but I still can't think of any reason why. That's why I brought these to show you and ask what you think since you should know her more."

Syaoran folded up the paper he had just finished reading and tossed it on top of the other ones on the nearest table. "There's nothing to say," he admitted though looking thoughtful. "She seems like any regular girl. If she's anything but, I would have noticed something by now. Maybe the Japanese government is just concerned? I mean, she disappeared in a foreign country. They're probably worried about the repercussions it could have with relations between them and South Korea."

"I thought that too… so you really think that's it then?"

The pair of them looked at each other. There was still a degree of doubt there. They were clearly not convinced that "that was it" but they also didn't know what else it could mean.

They both knew that the government wouldn't act this brazenly for a single citizen especially when it was only a speculated abduction.

"Did you run a thorough background check on her?" Syaoran asked a little while later while looking out the nearby window. He could see a lone figure sitting at the edge of the patio. He could tell it was Sakura from the color of her dress since Tomoyo was wearing something different. That and Sakura also had developed a habit of sitting on that very spot.

"I ran a basic but nothing really came up. She's just a regular employee from a regular company."

"Then maybe the Japanese government really is just concerned about their citizens," he said though this was more to convince himself than Eriol.

In truth, Syaoran thought it really was odd. No matter how much a country cared about their citizens, they wouldn't get _this_ involved in a single case of an average citizen. They had actually sent in officials from Japan to personally look into the matter of Sakura's disappearance and are actively participating in the investigation.

The only reason he could think of as to why a country's government would include themselves or interfere with matters like these is if the person involved were someone important, and by "important" it would either be that they are a considerable asset to the country… or a liability. If Sakura really was someone important, then Syaoran couldn't help but wonder which category she belonged to.

But then there's also the fact that Eriol looked her up and got nothing that would indicate either.

Frustrated, Syaoran ran his hand through his hair and finally tore his gaze from Sakura.

"We're probably just thinking too much into this."

* * *

Sakura sighed and leaned back with her palms planted on the wooden floor of the patio. She raised her head skyward and closed her eyes. The feeling of the light breeze was wonderful and it relaxed her body. She wished it could relax her mind as well but of course it wouldn't be that easy or simple to do.

" _After that, you can go home and back to your old life as if none of this ever happened."_

Eriol's words from the previous night were still echoing in her mind, repeating over and over like a curse.

Only another month, three at most of being with Syaoran on this island… if she had been told this earlier on, she would have felt nothing but happiness and relief. I mean, she was just told that she would be released, who wouldn't be happy about it?

But now…

Sakura slowly opened her eyes just as a flock of large birds flew overhead.

"As if nothing ever happened…" she whispered and hearing the words out loud actually made her feel like someone squeezed the insides of her chest.

Was that possible? At this point, can she really go back to her old life like nothing ever happened? Did she _want_ to go back as if nothing ever happened? That would mean forgetting Syaoran, everything she had come to know about him and everything that has happened on the island.

But then, nothing really happened between her and Syaoran… surely forgetting about it all wouldn't be so hard. Sure she realized she had feelings for him, but that was only a few days ago… how hard could it be to take that all back? She hadn't felt this way for him for too long after all and now that she knew they'd have to part ways soon, then she'll even have the presence of mind to not let her feelings go any further than they already have.

"Sakura?"

Sakura tilted her head all the way back and saw Tomoyo upside down just as she walked out of the door.

"I finished arranging everything!" she announced with a grin.

When they finished unpacking all of their new food supplies and other provisions, Tomoyo had also started to invade Sakura's room with a _lot_ of her own belongings.

They had shared Sakura's room the previous night and after she saw the lack of "anything decent" (according to Tomoyo) in there, she had put it upon herself to stuff a good portion of her own closet from the yacht into the room.

She even stocked her dresser with various products from facial treatments to hair sprays.

Sakura didn't even know _when_ she managed to pack that much stuff without her noticing until she started unloading them into her room after they put away all the bathroom stuff. But when she did find out and tried to stop Tomoyo from doing so, she only got kicked out of her room as a result.

Tomoyo walked over closer and sat herself down next to Sakura and let her legs dangle over the edge of the patio in the same manner.

"Tomoyo, thank you for doing all that but really… I'm not going to have any use for most of that stuff… especially not the makeup," Sakura reminded her (again).

When she saw Tomoyo stock her closet with clothes more appropriate for a girl (except for shoes since their sizes were different and Sakura insisted she was fine with the lone pair of sneakers she still had. She already spent most of the time going barefoot anyway), Sakura understood. But when she started arranging makeup on her dresser along with other things like diamond studded hair pins, she had protested and told her that those were things she would never use solely based on the fact that there was absolutely _nowhere_ to wear them to.

"You never know," Tomoyo said stubbornly with a grin.

Sakura could only sigh at this before she slowly slid down onto her back. "You really are something Tomoyo," she said with a little giggle before she closed her eyes again.

Indeed, Tomoyo's proving herself to be something completely different from what Sakura initially thought. She was far more kind and down-to-earth than she thought possible for a girl with her looks.

The silence between them continued for a long while and all they could hear was the soft rustling of leaves from nearby trees, the calm pushing and pulling of water from the nearby shore, and the distant sound of birds.

"Ne, Sakura…" Tomoyo finally said in a low, calm voice, and she sounded quite serious.

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Syaoran?"

Sakura's eyes snapped open at this and without moving an inch, her eyes drifted down to look at Tomoyo who still had her back turned to her. She was looking at something in the distance.

"I… Why do you ask?"

When she said this, Tomoyo finally broke her gaze to turn around and look at her. A small smile was on her lips and a look of understanding was visible on her face. It was as if she was wordlessly trying to tell Sakura "You don't have to worry. You can tell me."

They sat there looking at each other for a while until Sakura's vision started going hazy.

Tomoyo looked at her sadly before laying down next to Sakura and leaning her head on her shoulder.

Sakura bit her lip and looked up at the sky again though everything was a blur now as her tears continued to well up before finally escaping steadily from the corners of her eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I hope you like this chapter! More to come in the next few weeks and like I said prior to this chapter, since I'll be back home by next week, I'll be uploading more frequently. I've been writing and uploading chapters on my laptop for the last 4 months and it really doesn't feel right for me. I'm just not used to it. I haven't even bothered proof reading _any_ of the chapters I uploaded while I'm here. (I know, I'm bad.)

But I'm pretty sure when I get back home, inspiration will hit and I hope it'll make this story turn out even better than I want it to.

Well, that's it for now I suppose.

Next update will be... I can't say when but for sure it'll still be in the month of November (yes, 2015. lol). I promise!

For now, Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	9. I'll see you again

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

As promised, an update in the same month!

Also thank you for everyone's continued support for this story. I enjoyed reading the reviews and I appreciate you guys taking the time to write them. :)

I'm finally back home and back on my computer and it feels awesome! I can finally write comfortably again. I'll also start replying to those comments that need replies and so on once things settle down for me here.

Also, I noticed a _lot_ of typos and various errors in my last chapter. Ugh. As I said before, the chapters I posted while I was abroad were never proof read... hence all the mistakes. I took the liberty of correcting the ones I found in the previous chapter when I reread it but I have yet to check Chapter 7 and those before it. I will get around to it though, eventually.

For now, I hope you guys enjoy this new chapter!

* * *

 **Chapter Nine**

 _ **"I'll see you again."**_

* * *

Tomoyo took a sip of her tea as she continued to watch Sakura through the window. Her back was turned to her as she stood on the sandy shore with her hands clasped behind her. Tomoyo thought she looked tragically beautiful from behind as the breeze blew her hair and her dress to the side.

After their short but very sad conversation the previous day, they acted as if nothing had happened. They simply went about their day normally. They prepared lunch together, after which they watched movies, played board games which Tomoyo had taken with her from the yacht, gave each other facials and manicures, went fishing, then helped each other prepare and cook their catch for their dinner. They even had a fun time night swimming and they did all this without the company of either Syaoran or Eriol… except of course during their meals which they all ate together.

Throughout the day, Tomoyo had noticed the odd and confused looks she had been getting from both Syaoran and Eriol which wasn't unusual considering Tomoyo had shooed them every time they got anywhere near them, insisting that she wanted alone "girl time" with Sakura. This was the truth but she also did what she did as a form of distraction for her new friend. All things considered, Tomoyo thought she did a pretty good job of it too. After everything they did, Sakura fell right to sleep when they finally retired to their room. It was safe to say that Tomoyo had completely exhausted her and therefore successfully distracted her from thinking about Syaoran.

"Good morning."

Finally stealing her amethyst gaze from Sakura, Tomoyo turned around just as a freshly-bathed Eriol stopped right behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

She smiled at him and they shared a short and chaste kiss.

"Good morning," she greeted back and Eriol couldn't help but pick up the hint of sadness not only in her voice but on her face as well. He looked outside and his eyes immediately landed on Sakura.

"Are you okay?"

Tomoyo leaned her head against his shoulder and nodded slightly.

"Where's Syaoran? I haven't seen him since I got up earlier."

"Probably at the cave with Fan. He said something last night about changing the batteries out of some of the emergency equipment there."

"Isn't it a bit too early for that?"

She felt Eriol shrug his shoulders at this. "You know him. He always did have the habit of getting up before the sun even fully rises. I guess prison hasn't knocked that out of him," he said before tightening his grip around her waist. "Now stop changing the subject, I know you're not okay which is why I asked… what aren't you telling me?"

Tomoyo couldn't help but smile a little as he said this. Years together really made them too aware of each other to the point that they can't even succeed in lying to each other no matter how little.

"There's no besting you is there?" she asked before twisting around in his arms and wrapping her arms around his neck and resting her head against his nape.

"Nope," he said rather smugly and Tomoyo could tell he was grinning as he said this. "Now tell me."

"It's Sakura," she finally admitted without pulling away from him.

"Is it about Syaoran as well?"

"So you _did_ notice."

Eriol sighed at this before raising his head and resting his chin on top of Tomoyo's head.

"It's hard not to. I may not know Sakura much but I know Syaoran all too well."

As he said this, Tomoyo pulled away slightly to see her fiancé's face. She got the feeling they weren't exactly on the same page.

"What do you mean?"

"The day we arrived, Syaoran and I talked about Sakura a little while you were giving her that little makeover in the yacht. He knows that Sakura likes him. You know how he is… he can read people like open books. He also said nothing happened between them but I can almost feel his frustration when he told me this. It's as if he actually _wanted_ something to happen. Thankfully he had a better grip on the situation and avoided- ow! What was that for?"

Tomoyo had banged her fist against his chest and was currently frowning up at him.

"What do you mean 'thankfully he had a better grip on the situation'? It's as if you don't approve of Sakura and-"

"Tomoyo," he interrupted with a frown of his own now. He sounded serious, as was the look he was giving her at the moment. "You know the situation that Syaoran's in at the moment. It's not that I don't approve of Sakura… it has nothing to do with that. Even if it were some other woman, I wouldn't like it. Syaoran's simply not in the position to have any kind of relation with _anyone_ and especially not a woman. I'm already wary enough of _our_ connection with him, especially you considering you're more vulnerable than I am. The last thing he needs is to have any sort of connection with anyone else outside the pair of us. If what I think will happen next does happen, that _guy_ 's going to jump at any opportunity he can get and I wouldn't be surprised if he's going to come after you and that's only because you're known to be his childhood friend. What do you think that guy will do if he finds out that there's some other woman who's even more important to Syaoran?"

At this, Tomoyo bit her lip and the look on her face immediately thawed Eriol's slowly hardening mood.

He sighed and planted his lips on her forehead.

"Don't worry about it. I know you like Sakura… I haven't seen you get so attached to a girl this quickly the entire time I've known you. Syaoran likes her and judging from how you're acting, you were trying to tell me that she likes him too. Though to be honest, at this point, it's clear to anyone that they like each other. I can't say for sure that the relationship they have now will persist even after they leave Seven, but if it does, then we'll give them our full support. But for now let's just not fuel the fire, for _both_ their sakes. It's best not to further whatever they have going on… at least _for now_. Alright?"

Tomoyo didn't say anything in reply to this but eventually nodded her head. These were one of the times when even she knew not to argue with Eriol. Despite his carefree looks and attitude, Eriol still became a lawyer of his caliber for a reason.

* * *

The man on the couch leaned forward slightly to take a closer look at the older man who had just seated himself on the couch on the opposite side of the table from him.

"Name?" he asked him in a seedy voice.

"Is that necessary?" the older man asked with a frown before glancing at the two larger men who were standing behind their apparent boss. Despite his smaller size compared to his subordinates however, he looked just as intimidating or even more so mainly because of the large gash that ran from his right eyebrow all the way towards his partly severed right ear.

"You're asking for our assistance. We at least need a name to address you by."

At this, the older man took the briefcase he had brought in there with him from the floor and placed it on the table.

The two guards shifted slightly but didn't say a word.

Slowly, the older man clicked on the locks and the lid flipped open.

Every inch inside the case was stacked with cash.

"I'm paying for your assistance," he reminded and gestured towards the money. "Just refer to me as Kim."

At the sight of the amount of cash which he assumed totaled at 2.5 million Hong Kong Dollars based on the agreement, the man smiled.

"Very well Mister _Kim_. My name is Chen Yao, just call me Yao," he said with a slight bow of his head. "I'll be leading this job as instructed by the boss whom you've already spoken to. These two are my subordinates who report directly under me, as were those guys whom you passed on your way here. Now let's talk business."

Kim nodded at Yao though he was clearly younger than him by around fifteen years, he looked reliable enough. Not to mention his men looked like they could easily accomplish anything that was put to the task.

"It's imperative that what I'm paying you to do doesn't get out," Kim reminded him.

Yao looked at Kim with curiosity. Despite the sure way the older man was talking, he looked quite nervous though it was clear he was trying to not show it much.

Without a word, Yao nodded.

"Being discreet is naturally expected in this line of business, rest assured."

"Okay," Kim said as he reached into an inside pocket of his coat and pulled out a photograph. He placed it on the table and slid it across to Yao. "This is the guy I'm interested in."

Yao didn't need to lean further forward to check the photo clearly to know who the man printed on it was.

When their boss told their gang of the money involved with this particular client, Yao jumped onto the opportunity right away. This was a custom for their group when outside jobs are concerned. One of the boss' right hands will act as interim for him when they first make contact with a potential client. Not all the information is revealed upfront but they discuss it to a certain degree until a fair deal is agreed upon that suits both parties. After which, the boss brings up whatever new jobs are available at the weekly meeting with the underbosses. At this time, the jobs will be assigned unless someone voluntarily chooses to take it for themselves.

In this case, Yao had to fight three other of his "brothers" and fellow underbosses who were also interested for rights to this job.

"I was wondering why so much money was on the line for this job. I guess this explains it all," Yao said, his tone laughing as he took the photo from the table.

He took a single and very short glance at it before he held it up next to his head and one of the men took it from him.

"So Mister Kim… what exactly do want with the famous Li Xiao Lang?"

* * *

"What do you mean we have to leave?"

They were currently inside the house getting ready to have lunch. Tomoyo was pouring the dishes she and Sakura had prepared into bowls and plates while Sakura set up the dining table.

"After changing the batteries, Fan and I tested all the equipment in case any of them needed replacing," Syaoran said rather unhelpfully before he walked into his bedroom.

Eriol, who was sitting on the couch while doing a crossword puzzle from one of the pages of a puzzle book he originally brought for Syaoran's entertainment on the island, looked up at the open bedroom door. Syaoran literally just stepped inside the house when he announced he and Tomoyo had to leave the island as soon as possible.

"What are you talking about?" Eriol called out to him.

They could hear the sound of a closet opening and closing before Syaoran walked back out and this time holding onto the first aid kit he had last used for Sakura and himself.

"Fan told you that a huge storm's expected to come in next week right?" he said before walking over to one of the stools by the kitchen island and sitting atop it.

"Yeah, I originally told him I planned on coming here next week but he said it was best to schedule it earlier because of some storm."

"Well, that 'some storm' is a big one and it's coming in earlier than expected. It changed direction and it's going to pass right through Seven by tomorrow. When we checked the satellite radio earlier-"

"You do realize we purposefully shut off _all_ the gadgets that use signals of any form so they can't track activity to this island right?" Eriol reminded him like some kind of worrying parental figure.

"-we found out that it's expected to hit the area sometime at dawn," Syaoran continued though he said all this while looking at Tomoyo instead. "If you two went back to the mainland later than expected, it's only going to increase suspicion that you might have come in contact with me. It'll be best if you got back earlier than later, so you guys should leave as soon as possible. You guys have to start heading out at least in the next two hours. Fan already knows this and is getting things ready in the yacht."

"But… that's too soon," she said, frowning now. "Can't we at least leave tonight or something?"

"No," Syaoran and Eriol answered in unison.

"If you wait until then to head out, then you're really going to get caught in the storm Tomoyo," Syaoran told her seriously. "And believe me you don't want that to happen. Not a storm _this_ big."

"And if the storm catches us while we're still out at sea, the yacht won't be able to take the waves. By then, capsizing won't even be the least of our problems. Syaoran's right, we'll have to leave as soon as possible," Eriol said before getting up from the couch. "I'll need to go talk to Fan about preparations. I'll be right back."

Tomoyo watched him quickly head outside before glancing at Syaoran and then to the ceramic Tupperware that had Fan's share of lunch inside it.

"I'll go deliver this to Fan then," she suddenly announced. "If I leave this for later, he'll be too busy making preparations to even eat a single bite."

Though Syaoran and Eriol had a good relationship with Fan, he was technically still an employee. But Tomoyo had since taken the habit of taking care of him as if he were her child… even if he was two years older than her. She had been setting food especially for him and even delivered them to him herself. Clearly she still felt like she owed him her life for taking them safely into Seven after Eriol's dangerous failed attempts.

Sakura watched her leave after Eriol and continued to place plates of food at the center of the table. When she finished all the preparations, she glanced over at Syaoran who was currently trying to tie the bandage he had just wrapped around his left palm.

When she noticed he was having a hard time trying to slip the end through to make a knot, Sakura stepped forward towards him and wordlessly took hold of his hand before starting to work on retightening the bandage and neatly tying it in place.

"Thank you."

"How did you get hurt?" she asked in a casual enough manner that she surprised even herself. There weren't many chances to speak to Syaoran and especially not like this with just the two of them, not since Tomoyo and Eriol arrived.

"Fan slipped on our way out of the cave. I caught hold of him but lost balance too and I got cut by a rock when I grabbed on to the wall."

"Does it hurt?"

"It's fine. It isn't too deep," he reassured and he smiled at her a little.

"That's… good," she said, blushing a little as she turned around, intending to go into her room and wait there until either Tomoyo or Eriol returned.

"Hold on," Syaoran said and he caught her by the wrist before she could walk away any further.

She froze at the feel of his touch and gulped. Knowing full well her face was a deep color of red at the moment she turned around to face him though her head was bent quite low. She was hoping her hair could manage to cover most of her face.

"I feel like I haven't spoken to you in a while," Syaoran admitted and immediately thought he sounded rather stupid… like some kind of lonely lovesick teenager. It had only been three days since Eriol and Tomoyo got here. And besides, he did manage to talk to Sakura a little bit at the yacht that time the loving couple were busy swimming.

He immediately let go of her wrist.

"Forget it," he said and without another word, he picked up the first aid kit and headed back towards his room.

Sakura watched him go before she too quietly headed towards her own room with her face quite possibly the reddest it had ever been in her life.

* * *

"I'll try to get things in order so you can get back as soon as possible," Eriol said before he climbed into the inflatable speedboat which is what they had used to travel to and from where the yacht was being anchored in the middle of the bay. "You'll be free soon Syaoran. Start celebrating!"

Syaoran could only smirk as he said this.

"I'll do that when you actually do get me out of this mess," he told Eriol who could only grin back.

"Pretty sure I won't be seeing you until you get back to the mainland, so I'll get in touch then. Take care of yourself and Sakura. Remember, don't-"

"Yes, yes, _mother,_ " Syaoran interrupted and rolled his eyes before turning back to the patio where the girls were. "Oi! Tomoyo!"

Tomoyo looked back at him before she turned back to Sakura and gave her a hug.

"They've gotten really close. Can't even tell that they've only known each other for three days," Eriol commented as Tomoyo started making her way down towards them.

"Tell me about it."

When Tomoyo reached them, she handed Eriol her bag before walking over to Syaoran and giving him a hug as well.

"Take care of Sakura and don't make her cry."

Syaoran's brows shot up as she said this.

"I mean it Syaoran," she said with a frown before grabbing Eriol's hand and letting him help her into the boat.

"You two take care. I'll see you again."

"Soon," Eriol added.

"And you better bring Sakura with you," Tomoyo added.

With that, Eriol turned on the engine and the pair of them quickly drove off towards the yacht. They used a vacuum hose so it didn't take them long to deflate the boat and pull it onto the yacht. When they were about to set out, both Eriol and Tomoyo waved their arms in the air.

Syaoran watched them sail away. They exited the cove quite easily in contrast with their attempts at entering it.

Not long after, he lost complete sight of the yacht and at once, Syaoran was reminded of the fact that he has yet to return to his normal life.

He turned around and headed back towards the house. Sakura was still standing on the patio and looking out into the distance. Even from afar, he could tell how lonely she looked.

"Are you alright?" Syaoran asked when he reached the steps that led up to the patio.

Sakura finally tore her gaze from the water and looked at him. She nodded a little and even managed a small smile.

"You have great friends," she told him and Syaoran thought she sounded like she was about to cry though she didn't really look it.

"They're your friends now too," he reminded her.

After he said this, Sakura looked like she really was about to cry now. Tears were beginning to well up in her eyes that it actually startled Syaoran to see this. He walked up to her and pulled her into his embrace. He knew that he shouldn't have such close contact with her but he couldn't help it. The distraught look on her face surprised even him and he simply acted on impulse.

"What's wrong?" he asked but she only shook her head against his chest.

Feeling guilty though not knowing why, Syaoran sighed and started running his hand through her smooth honey brown tresses in hopes that this would be enough to calm her even at least by a little.

When Sakura felt his fingers slowly comb through her hair in a soothing manner, it only made her want to cry even more. It felt really nice being in Syaoran's arms and being treated so gently like this but she also felt guilty. Syaoran was probably thinking he had said something wrong to bring her to tears but really she was crying on her own.

But she can't tell him that, nor can she tell him _why_ she was even crying in the first place.

" _Sakura, please don't give up your feelings on Syaoran even if it may complicate things later on."_

She can't possibly tell him that the reason she was crying was actually because of what Tomoyo had told her just now before she had left.

" _I know this isn't my place to say but I'm only telling you this for both your sakes seeing as both of you are so stubborn…"_

The words she left behind were so wonderful and simply too good to be true that seeing Syaoran just now and up close only reminded her that her words couldn't possibly be real.

"… _Syaoran loves you too."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I actually did proof read this chapter this time but if I made any mistakes, I apologize and feel free to point them out and I'll correct them later on.

The next update will come soon. Probably in the next few days or next week... look forward to it!

For now, Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	10. Please

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

 _ **Warning!**_ This chapter has content that is not suitable for younger audiences.

Sort of.

Okay, I made that sound so bad but it's just to give a little awareness. Personally, I don't think it's a big deal and if you've read my other story ( _ **Meant to be Wild**_ ) and thought that there was nothing too bad about the mature content there, then what happens in this chapter really will feel like "meh" in comparison.

But being the author, I thought it would be the responsible thing to say something beforehand. It's the "adult" thing to do... or so I was told (by my conscience). Heh.

* * *

 **Chapter Ten**

 _ **"Please."**_

* * *

" _How do you know?"_

" _I just do. I'm telling you, he loves you… you believe me right?"_

 _Sakura shook her head. "That's just impossible."_

" _Why is it impossible?"_

" _Because…" she couldn't find the words to continue her sentence._

" _Because…"_

" _Because…"_

 _BANG!_

Sakura's eyes snapped open in shock from the sound. When she realized she was actually lying on her bed, her breathing slowed as she started calming down.

"Even my dreams are insisting that it's impossible," she muttered to herself as she started to get up. There wasn't an ounce of realism to the scene that just played through her head but it felt like a reminder for her that she shouldn't get ahead of herself.

When Sakura headed over to the dresser to check on her reflection, it was to see her eyes looking incredibly puffy. She didn't even cry that much and yet _this_ happened.

With a sigh, she started gathering her bag of toiletries and a change of clothes- which comprised of one of many dresses that Tomoyo left behind –and headed out of her room.

Right as she opened the door, she took a peek outside but Syaoran was nowhere in sight. She looked over at the dining table and didn't see the usual plate of food there which he prepared whenever he woke up first so she figured he was still in bed though this was unusual since he always got up early.

She was about to head inside the bathroom when something caught her eye. A large tree branch had just flown past the window and it was at this that Sakura realized that there was a storm outside. She couldn't hear anything at all from the inside which was a wonder considering the heavy rainfall and wind passing through. The banging noise from earlier was probably from some really large branch or something hitting the roof or the side of the house.

Sakura walked over towards one of the windows and was amazed at how dark the skies were at this time of day. She could also see the raging seas and she could only imagine just how strong the wind was from how the nearby tree was tilting.

Grateful that they were totally safe indoors, Sakura left the window and proceeded to the bathroom.

* * *

Sakura sat at the dining table while munching on the last piece of her toast. It had nearly been an hour since she had woken up and Syaoran still didn't show any signs of coming out of his room. She was in half a mind to knock but she didn't want to disturb him.

 _But what if something happened to him?_ This was a question she asked herself nearly a dozen times by now in the course of fifteen minutes.

When ten more minutes passed, Sakura couldn't take it anymore. She finally pushed her chair back and headed towards his bedroom door. With a deep breath, she rapped her knuckles onto the wood.

 _KNOCK KNOCK_

"Syaoran?"

She waited for a whole minute but he didn't reply, nor did she hear any sound from the inside.

 _KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK_

"Syaoran? Are you awake?"

Another minute and still nothing.

Even more worried now, Sakura didn't hesitate anymore as she pulled on the door knob and was surprised when it actually turned.

"Syaoran?" she called out again before poking her head through the gap. "Are you a-"

Sakura looked inside and froze. He wasn't there.

She pushed the door all the way and entered.

"Syaoran?" she called out again and she even opened the only other there which apparently led to his closet. He wasn't there.

Feeling anxious now, Sakura ran out of the room and looked around for anywhere he could be.

She ran towards the door next to the bathroom which led to the room that was half a laundry room and half a storage room.

Not there either.

When she ran back out into the living room, her eyes darted to the window again just as another large broken branch flew past.

She paled.

"He… He couldn't be," she said with wide eyes as she ran towards the glass door. It wasn't locked. Despite the fact that no one could possibly come to the island without knowing how, when, and where to enter thus practically eliminating the possibility of intruders of coming, Syaoran still had the habit of locking the main doors and reminding Sakura to do the same for her bedroom before going to sleep.

The main door was unlatched and obviously not tampered with which could only mean one thing.

Syaoran had willingly gone outside in _this_ weather and he was still out there now.

* * *

"The storm should've hit by now, right? Do you think they'll be alright?" Tomoyo's voice was laced with worry.

At present, she and Eriol were in a hotel in Shanghai. Neither of them felt like taking a flight back to Hong Kong right after the hours they spent sailing the East China Sea so here they were, in a suite of a 5-star hotel.

"They'll be fine. That house was built like a military-grade bunker," Eriol reassured her without bothering to look her way.

"I doubt the panel of _glass_ that's practically covering one entire wall of that house is built with the durability of a bunker though."

"The glass is reinforced too. You can try banging a hammer against it and even then it wouldn't break that easily. Believe me, I tried. You need a considerable amount of force to even just leave a scratch. And besides, there are board-ups in the house which they can use on the glass if the storm gets too much."

Tomoyo hadn't said anything in reply to this at which Eriol finally took his eyes away from the screen of his laptop.

She was still leaning against the window of their hotel room whilst looking over the city of Shanghai below with an expression that clearly showed that she wasn't convinced with what he just said. The storm hadn't reached them yet but it should at this time the next day if it continued on its predicted course and travelled with the predicted speed.

"Come here for a sec."

She turned to look at him and was surprised to see he had already closed the lid of his laptop and his hands were outstretched towards her.

"Weren't you reading some important document for a case or something?" she asked though she walked over towards him regardless.

He had been eager to get access to the internet but they could only reconnect to satellites after reaching a certain (and safe) distance away from Seven. When they finally did get connected, he had his eyes glued to the monitor of either his cell phone or laptop ever since due to work related matters.

When Tomoyo reached him, he pulled her down and made her sit on his lap with her legs on either side of him.

He grinned up at her and wrapped his arms around her waist before pressing his lips against her nape, after which he stuck out his tongue and ran it over her bare skin in a very arousing manner.

"Eriol," she half giggled, half moaned.

"As your fiancé, I have the duty to help you relax when you're stressed out," he said in a matter-of-fact tone before abruptly and easily hoisting her up with him.

Tomoyo gave a little shriek of surprise which was replaced with laughter as he strode over towards the door that led to the bedroom.

* * *

Sakura glanced at the nearby wall clock for the umpteenth time.

Twenty minutes have passed since Sakura noticed Syaoran wasn't there and he _still_ hadn't returned. She had made the decision that she go outside to look for him if he hadn't returned yet in half an hour but at this point, she can't take any more waiting and doing nothing.

Several images have already passed through her mind at what might have happened to him and each of them was getting more gruesome by the minute.

Hopping off the stool she had been sitting on, Sakura strode towards the laundry room and opened one of the cabinets there. She knew there were several types of jackets stored there after she opened it the other day when she and Tomoyo were looking for a place to set aside the spare supplies of laundry detergent and fabric softeners.

Sakura spotted a folded yellow raincoat. Grabbing it quickly without bothering to check if it even fit her, she started heading towards the main door of the house while pulling the material over her head. When she finally succeeded on wearing it, she was surprised to see how huge it was on her. The ends nearly touched her ankles.

But she didn't have any more time to waste. What if Syaoran was hurt and on the verge of death right at that moment?

Shaking her head furiously at this thought, Sakura slipped her feet into her sneakers (the only thing left she originally owns and still wears after all this time) before she finally pulled the sliding the glass door open.

The moment she did, however, she was practically shoved back inside by the strength of the wind.

Staggering to regain her balance, Sakura was already drenched in rain and she wasn't even outside yet.

It took her a good five or so minutes to finally step out onto the patio and slide the door close until she heard it click to a close though really she mostly felt the click rather than hear it. It was practically impossible to hear anything at the moment considering how incredibly loud the howling wind was, as was the rain as it hit the wooden surface of the patio and the swaying leaves and branches of nearby trees.

"SYAORAN!" Sakura shouted in the loudest voice she could muster.

She walked around towards different corners of the patio while screaming his name and hoping he could hear her but no reply came or any sign at all that could indicate that he could have heard her.

When she shielded her eyes from the rain and narrowed her gaze around the shoreline. A particularly large wave had just crashed the wall of jagged rocks nearby the cave and the sound it made upon collision was quite menacing which could be heard from where she stood despite the considerable distance.

"The cave," said as her eyes lingered on the barely visible mouth of the cave she had only visited once with Syaoran.

Sakura looked around her once again, as if undecided. In truth, she would much rather circle the house and try shouting for Syaoran again in case he actually was nearby, but then she couldn't think of any reason why Syaoran would be hanging out outside near the house. The only other place besides the house that he could have gone to (as far as she knew anyway), was the cave which also- according to Syaoran himself –served as an emergency shelter. Maybe he had gone there to get some equipment he needed.

Gritting her teeth, Sakura forced herself to jog down the patio and cross the damp shore line until she reached the rocky path that led towards the cave. She climbed up the step slowly and carefully and was relieved nothing bad happened so far.

When she looked up at the path before her while having a hand pressed on the wall to her right for added balance, she couldn't help but feel scared. The waves coming from the water to her left were incredibly fierce. They crashed against the wall with so much force that it forced water to spray all over the path in large quantities.

"SYAORAN!" Sakura shouted again but still no reply.

She slowly made her way down the path in slow, small steps. Every time a wave crashed against the cliff side, she would stop and try to dig her feet as much as she can though she doubted this did much.

A quarter of an hour probably passed until Sakura finally managed to reach the mouth of the cave. She realized now how incredibly slow she was but that didn't matter. The fact that she even made it that far in once piece already felt like a miracle.

If she weren't careful and didn't stick close enough to the wall, the harsh winds could easily pick her up and send her flying.

"SYAORAN! ARE YOU IN THERE?!" Sakura shouted and she leaned forward slightly to take a peek inside the cave. Everything in there was dark. Despite the considerable distance from the mouth to the end of the cave, she should still be able to see any light coming from in there had there been any at all. "SYAO-"

"SAKURAAAAA!"

Hearing her name just now surprised Sakura. It was incredibly faint and she just heard it from far away, not in front of her but from somewhere behind her.

She looked back quickly and immediately spotted the lone figure dressed in a red colored rain coat.

It was Syaoran.

He was waving his arms in the air.

Sakura could see that he was shouting something and she could only assume that he was shouting her name again but she couldn't hear him anymore as a large wave crashed against the rocky cliff.

Relieved at the sight that he was okay, Sakura turned around and waved excitedly back at him. Just seeing him there and alive relieved her to such an extent that it surprised even herself.

But little did she know that Syaoran was waving at her as a means of a warning, not a greeting.

She had just started to make her way back down the path but as soon as she raised a foot forward, a particularly large wave crashed against the cliff right next to her.

Sakura's eyes widened as the large expanse of water crashed over her entire form.

* * *

Syaoran watched the water rain down over Sakura just before it swept her down into the bay.

One moment she was there waving at him and the next, nothing. She was totally submerged underwater. He couldn't even see a single trace of her yellow raincoat from the surface.

Cursing, he darted towards the path to the cave all the while shouting her name repeatedly.

* * *

Sakura kicked her legs as hard as she could and moved her arms as much as she could but whenever she did manage to push herself in the direction of what she thought was the surface, she was easily pushed back down by a force that was much too strong for her to handle.

Inwardly, Sakura wondered if she was going to die.

She doubted the amount of air in her lungs would last her more than a few more seconds.

 _If I knew I was going to die today, I might have been more honest with myself. I should have at least told him…_

Sakura opened her eyes and was amazed. She had just been thinking about Syaoran and there he was, right above her, looking handsome as ever with his long hair that he never got Tomoyo to cut and even still with that trademark glare of his.

 _Syaoran…_ "I think I l-" but as Sakura said this, bubbles rose from her lips and she was immediately reminded of how cold she felt. She was already cold in the outside, but this time, her insides were being invaded by ice.

Then everything went black.

…

…

…

" _How do you know?"_

" _I just do. I'm telling you, he loves you… you believe me right?"_

 _Sakura shook her head. "That's just impossible."_

" _Why is it impossible?"_

" _Because…"_

…

…

" _Open your eyes, you'll see."_

" _But…"_

"Open your eyes, please."

" _It's impossible."_

"Please."

Sakura felt something touch her cheek. It was cold but it also felt warm at the same time. She couldn't really make sense of it.

"Open your eyes Sakura."

When she heard these words again, Sakura faintly realized that it wasn't coming from the voice in her dream which was supposed to take on Tomoyo's voice. Though this new voice spoke in the same soothing manner as Tomoyo's voice in her head, this one was distinctively male and he was speaking the words over and over again like a prayer.

"Please."

Slowly, Sakura finally opened her eyes and the first thing she saw was Syaoran's handsome but worried face and it was almost nose to nose with her own.

She didn't know what was more of a shock, the feeling of the sudden piercing cold that spread throughout her body together with her returning consciousness, the fact that there wasn't even an inch of space between her face and the guy she liked or…

"Thank God," Syaoran said with relief before he rested his forehead against hers.

Sakura gasped in shock but when she did, she could feel the cold dampness of her mouth, as if she had just drunk- or judging from the current state of things, spewed out –water moments earlier. That must have been an attractive sight though she couldn't remember it happening at all.

But these embarrassing thoughts didn't linger in her brain for too long. Syaoran had just pulled away after pressing his cold lips onto her forehead. She could see him moving without having to move her head. He was pulling an unused folded blanket from somewhere nearby and putting it underneath her head.

She averted her eyes for a moment in order to asses where she was exactly and when she looked down, she could see another blanket already spread out over her body and beyond her feet, the mouth of the cave wasn't too far.

So they were inside the cave. She wouldn't have thought of this judging from how soft it felt underneath her. It didn't feel like she was lying on rough cave floor at all.

But upon closer inspection, she finally noticed the high rocky ceiling which was currently bathed in a dim light coming from two emergency lanterns that were lit and situated nearby. That would explain the lack of warmth. At first Sakura thought the light came from a fire or something.

"How are you feeling? Still cold?" Syaoran asked. He was looking at her again, worry still apparent on his face.

In response to this, all she could do was shiver. Her throat felt parched despite feeling wet at the same time. It was the salt water's doing.

Not waiting for her actual words, Syaoran disappeared somewhere for a short while. Sakura could hear him rummaging through some stuff somewhere before he reappeared next to her again.

"Try to carry a little of your weight for a sec," he instructed before easily pushing her up to a sitting position.

Sakura could hear him shift around behind her before she felt him lay her back down though this time she felt her back rest against his muscular chest. She froze as she felt the contact of her bare skin against his and it was only at this point that she realized that she had been naked.

Syaoran didn't say anything though she was sure he noticed her stiffen atop him. He pulled her against him so she could rest her head against his shoulder before he spread the unused blanket he had just used as a pillow on top of the one already wrapped around her.

"You'll warm up soon enough," he said casually and Sakura could only nod jerkily. Should he touch or even _see_ her face, he'd know she was warm enough the neck up as it is. "The wall's supporting me so you can just let your full weight rest on me, alright?"

She gave another jerky nod. Obviously he mistook her stiffness for consideration.

Silence fell between them as they sat there whilst looking at the ravaging wind, rain, and waves through the mouth of the cave.

They didn't know how long they stayed like that only that the weather outside didn't look ready to let up even a little bit any time soon.

"Are you still feeling cold?"

At this question, Sakura couldn't help but blush even more. The only source of cold she felt right now was the dampness of the only article of clothing he was wearing-his shorts which was currently touching the naked skin of her lower back and the top area of her (thankfully) panty covered rear. He may have removed her bra but he at least left on the lower half.

Thinking about this now, Sakura blushed yet again and in a deeper shade than before. How had he managed to take off her clothes?! She understood that he did it for health purposes, so to keep her from getting too cold and getting sick later on but it was still _very_ embarrassing to imagine. Was he not fazed at all from having to undress a grown woman? Or was her body that unappealing that there was nothing worth being affected by?

"Not at all," she finally squeaked. If she said otherwise, she had no doubt in her mind that he'd rid himself of what was left of both their clothing and if he had, this time she'd surely pass out from overheating.

She could hear him sigh as she said this. She didn't even realize how tense he was all this time until she felt his muscles finally relax slightly behind her.

"Are… are you okay?"

He raised a hand and rested it atop her head.

"I'm relieved. I was sure you'd have died when the water swept you away. It's a miracle you're still talking right now."

Again, Sakura's cheeks flushed.

"Thank you," she mumbled in a small voice. "Thank you for saving me."

She could feel him nod his head at this.

"And sorry…"

"Sorry? For what?"

"For the trouble I'm causing you. I haven't really done anything since I got here except put myself into situations where you end up risking your own life to save mine. I owe you my life… I'm really glad I met you. I just wish I could have done more for you instead."

At this, Syaoran actually chuckled.

"W-What?" Sakura asked, embarrassed now. Was she too emotional just now? But could he blame her? She had almost _died_ after all.

"You're glad you met me, when this wouldn't have happened at all had you never met me in the first place," he reminded.

At this, Sakura couldn't help the frown and the pout from appearing on her face.

"That's… that's beside the point."

"No it isn't," he argued and just from his tone, she could sense that he was smiling an _actual and full_ smile, not just those small teasing ones he always sent her way.

Sakura turned to look at his face quickly and she did so in time to catch the rare sight. He was still grinning when her eyes landed on his face.

"What?"

"You were smiling just now."

He looked confused as she said this.

"I never saw you smile before… at least not genuinely. All you do is smirk or make those small coy smiles and stuff."

A brow shot up when she said this as Syaoran considered her words. He never thought about the last time he actually smiled properly. It's not that he had any trouble smiling. It's just there was never a reason to "genuinely" smile without restraint in the first place, at least not in the last few years.

"I'm still technically smiling when I do smile 'coyly' as you put it."

Sakura shook her head and sat upright on her own in order to look at him carefully.

"That doesn't exactly count," she said with a lecturing finger. "Even if you felt genuinely happy while you did those, it's still not _really_ a smile."

Her tone amused him greatly and he would have responded with a witty retort just now but he was unable to do so. Though Sakura was gripping onto the blankets over her chest securely when she moved, the entirety of her back from her exposed neck to her slender waist down to the curve of her panty-clad bottom was in complete and uncensored view for Syaoran's eyes to feast upon.

Noting how Syaoran's amber eyes were running slowly down her body, Sakura blushed the deepest shade yet before slamming her back against his chest once again.

The sudden collision made Syaoran cough in surprise as the wind was knocked out of him but he said nothing about it. Neither of them said anything.

"It'll take a while for your clothes to dry," he finally said a while later. Though this may be the wrong choice of topic, this was the only thing he could think about of saying to dispel the awkwardness in the air.

Still blushing, Sakura turned her head even further away from him and nodded in silence.

When her cheek touched his bare shoulder, Syaoran could feel the heat coming from her face.

"You're not developing a fever are you?"

"No, I'm not."

"Your face feels really hot."

"It's… it's 'cause it's warm under the blankets."

"Let me check your temperature for a second."

"T-There's no need! I'm perfectly fine!"

Syaoran frowned at this and without a word, pulled her face to look at him.

Startled and too late to push him away, her eyes met his and she gulped.

"I-I-I said I'm fine!" she stuttered in panic before forcing herself to look away from him again.

There was silence for a while and if it went any longer, he was surely going to notice how loud her heart was beating, that is if he hadn't felt it yet. If he hadn't, that too would be a miracle.

"Sa-"

"I wonder when this storm will finally pass," she interrupted in a voice which sounded nothing short of hysterical.

"Sa-"

"Maybe we should start heading back? We can't stay here too long after all, if we just go out carefully and time our steps with-"

"Sakura," Syaoran said again and this time in a firmer tone of voice.

Sakura's mouth shut immediately.

"Will you look this way?"

She shook her head and instead looked down.

"Let me see your face again."

At this, she squeezed her eyes shut.

The seconds ticked by without either of them making a move but Sakura could feel her face grow even hotter.

"Sakura…"

As he said this, Sakura could feel his fingers trace her jaw before gently nudging her to turn her face towards him.

When she was finally facing his way, she could feel him press his thumb lightly on her chin and as he did so, Sakura couldn't help but want to open her eyes to look at him.

Syaoran still hadn't said anything but when her eyes met his, his amber irises were almost blazing.

Before she could even think of something intelligible to say however, he was already leaning forward until his lips touched hers in a gentle kiss.

But this didn't last long. It probably lasted five seconds or so before he pulled away from her.

Sakura tried to steady her breathing while he continued to look into her eyes. She didn't even realize she was out of breath until just then. And how was it possible that she was in this state just from a peck-like kiss?!

"You should rest some more," he said in a low voice though his eyes still had that intense look in them.

Sakura looked back at him and a sort of low mewl as if from a begging kitten seemed to escape her lips unconsciously.

Syaoran's brows furrowed and his eyes travelled down from her eyes to her awaiting pink lips instead.

"You're making this incredibly hard for me Sakura," he admitted in a husky voice and there was almost an agonizing hint to his tone.

She looked back at him worriedly but all logic had already flown out the window where she's concerned and at that very moment, all she wanted was _him_.

Ever since the distance closed between her and Syaoran, even before she realized her feelings for the man in front of her was love, she had already started yearning for him in _that_ certain way. It couldn't be helped. She was only human after all. And after being constantly exposed to a person the likes of Li Xiao Lang day in and day out, those certain kinds of feelings were expected to come about sooner or later.

Over the last few weeks, there had been a lot of moments… a lot of opportunities, which both Sakura and Syaoran passed up because they just didn't have the guts to do anything (Sakura) and they also had to be smart about the present situation (Syaoran).

There were just too many things stopping the inevitable up to that point.

But now…

"Please," Sakura said in a small voice. Her lust-filled, half-lidded emerald eyes were staring into his burning amber ones intently and hopefully.

That was all it took to finally make Syaoran snap.

Wordlessly and in one swift motion, he pulled both of Sakura's arms over his shoulders before pushing her down on the blanket covered cave floor.

Sakura wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and their lips pressed together again, and this time, there wasn't a hint of reservation in him. She felt his tongue slip through and enter her mouth until it engaged her own.

She didn't even realize that he had already pulled away the blankets that had been a source of cover for her naked body until she felt his warm hands firmly grasp her breasts and squeeze them.

Sakura gasped in surprise at this but couldn't help but arch her back into his touch even more.

Syaoran's breath against her bare skin…

Syaoran's touch as his hands further roamed her body…

The heat emanating from him…

His heartbeat…

Just the very _feel_ of him…

It was divine.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

See what I mean now with regards to my note before this chapter started? Compared to the more explicit (and badly written) stuff in _**Meant to be Wild**_ , what happened just now between Syaoran and Sakura felt like nothing. Right!?

For those of you (if there are any of you) hoping/expecting for some NSFW content, I'll have to apologize in advance. I can't write scenes like those in great detail mainly because I simply can't. I can only write short ones like what's written above or simple ones like those I've written in _**Remember**_. But that's it.

If you read **_Meant to be Wild_** , yes, you'll see there's quite a bit of such scenes found in there but that's also exactly why I'll never write such things again. (Notice how that's the only M-rated story I have.) I would love to write mature/sexual content. It would add more flavor to my stories (in my opinion). But I'm just not good at it. I _want_ to be good at it but I just can't. I do still keep trying to write that kind of content but everything I've written and tried to write are never good enough so I end up not using any of it in the end. Ugh, the frustrations!

Simply put, the lemony scenes I managed to write in _**Meant to be Wild**_ were just a product of my naive, curious, and frustrated(?) youth.

 _*Sigh*_

...

ANYWAY! My WTF past aside, I hope you guys still enjoyed this chapter!

As for the main question in everyone's minds (judging from the reviews you guys left) regarding Syaoran's past as to why he was in prison... well, you guys will find out soon enough!

'Til next time, Ja ne!

 **Raeny**

P.S. - This chapter update came only 5 days after I posted Chapter 9 but that's only because I had this chapter ready early on. I'll try to post Chapter 11 as soon as possible but probably in another 5 days time. Just saying!


	11. You'll be home soon

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

Another chapter!

I'd like to thank everyone who read, reviewed, and followed this story thus far. Truly, I'm grateful for your continued support and encouragement. It makes me really happy knowing people out there are anticipating the continuation to my story.

Now, onward!

* * *

 **Chapter Eleven**

 _ **"You'll be home soon."**_

* * *

Sakura couldn't believe it.

This wasn't her first time experiencing sex since she did have boyfriends before but this was her first time experiencing sex that _intense_ and so fueled with desire and lust. Not to mention it was all done inside a _cave_. She didn't know why but there was something really _primal_ and _raw_ about the very idea. She thought it wasn't exactly a bad thing, just that it made her feel very embarrassed now that her head was clearer.

"Found the last of the pots!" Sakura announced loudly so Syaoran could hear her.

It was eleven o'clock in the evening of that same day. She and Syaoran were already back in the house and the storm had finally passed.

Turns out, when Syaoran had gone missing from the house, he had been out at the storage shed (which she didn't know even existed) to get the large sheets of thick wood which he said was usually used to board up the glass windows in case of powerful storms or when no one would occupy the island for long periods of time. He had managed to board up most of the windows but didn't get to finish his work when he eventually noticed Sakura's disappearance and left the job to go look for her.

When he reprimanded her for doing something dangerous as going out into the storm, she had thrown the same accusation back at him.

He told her that the board-ups were usually kept in the back area of the laundry room and it can be used from either the inside or outside of the glass all to help reinforce it further. Apparently he had intended to install it from inside if the storm came too strong. When it did and he decided to put it up, it was only to find the board-ups missing. Since he hadn't been there in the last five years, he assumed someone- Eriol (and whoever people he came with) -must have moved them to the storage shed without letting him know.

There were ten glass panels in total but in the end, two of the four windows which hadn't been covered had been broken. A particularly thick tree branch had broken through the window by the dining area and had wrecked the interior.

Thankfully not much was broken except for a vase and a few glasses when one of the cupboards in the kitchen was thrown open. The rest of the damage was just upturned furniture, misplaced utensils, a slight mess from leaves, twigs and small rocks as well as the water that pooled on the floor from the invading rain.

In short, it could have been worse.

Sakura rearranged the pots back to their hooks against the wall and sighed.

If she hadn't left the house in the first place, all this damage could have been avoided.

"What's wrong?"

She jumped as Syaoran spoke into her ear and slid his arms around her waist. When he lowered his head to rest it against her nape and breathe in her scent, she couldn't help but blush.

Even if they had just done the deed earlier, this kind of thing was still embarrassing for her. It was like his personality went on a full 180 and though she very much liked it, it still felt overwhelming.

But Sakura didn't push him away. Not like she could anyway.

Syaoran kissed the spot on her neck before pulling away.

"Go warm yourself up with a shower first while I board the broken window and clean this mess up."

"But I want to h-"

"You can help after you finish. But you need to warm up first. We don't have a way to leave the island until the next time Fan comes back with supplies so I can't have you getting sick. We'll switch when you're done."

What he said made perfect sense so Sakura could only nod obediently.

Syaoran watched her leave without argument and proceeded to kick down what was left of the two broken glass panels still hanging on out onto the patio. He had already pulled out the tree branch which had been sticking through it earlier.

When he heard the sound of Sakura's door closing again, he turned around just in time to catch a glimpse of her entering the bathroom.

As the door softly behind her, Syaoran pulled on a nearby chair and sat atop it.

"Shit," he couldn't help but finally curse while leaning over with his elbows on his knees. His brows were furrowed and a serious expression was on his face. It would have been clear if anyone saw him right now that he was _very_ troubled about something.

" _You didn't_ do _anything to her while you two were stuck here all this time, have you?!"_

" _I_ sincerely _advise you not to do anything."_

"Who _'s the one in a bind here? I'm only thinking about your best interests."_

Eriol's words were echoing on repeat in his head… annoyingly so.

He wasn't exactly regretting what had happened between him and Sakura. If anything, he felt like it was bound to happen anyway. But that still didn't take away the fact that he was still being incredibly thoughtless about the situation.

Syaoran had never been the type to give in to his desires especially if he knew the consequences of his actions. Had his time in prison done this to him? Was he just so depraved of intimacy and sex that he lost control of himself?

 _No,_ he told himself with a shake of his head. It wasn't that simple. His self control was something he honed just by growing up a "Li" and it wasn't something that can easily be broken especially not by his libido.

He ran his hand through his hair before standing up and slowly getting back to work.

There was no point in thinking about this matter further. He already knew _exactly_ why his otherwise stubborn disposition wavered, and the cause was standing on the other side of the bathroom door.

* * *

When Sakura finished bathing and changing into one of Tomoyo's silk pajamas, she returned to the scene of where the mess was supposed to be only to discover the place almost exactly as it was before the storm ravaged it.

The only indicator that anything happened there was the large pile of broken glass on one corner and the empty hole on the wall which was now covered up with wooden panels from the outside.

Syaoran was in the middle of trying to straighten out one of the legs of a side table which was currently bent.

"You work fast. You didn't leave much for me to do," Sakura pointed out as she made her way towards the pile of glass, intending to sweep it into a bag or something.

"Hold on," he said before setting down the table he had been working on. "I'll deal with that when I go get gloves from the storage shed out back."

Sakura frowned at this and Syaoran just knew she was about to suggest that she could head out to fetch it herself.

"You can start preparing dinner," he suggested before she could say anything. "All I've had today were those canned stuff in the cave. It's late but I still want to eat after I shower."

It was clear on her face that Sakura knew full well what he was trying to do but she didn't rebuke him.

This made him inwardly grateful that she was at least obedient when he wanted her to be.

* * *

Kim looked through the files given to him with a frown.

"Are these it?" he asked, obviously unsatisfied before tossing the folder back on the table. The papers inside it flew out in the process before scattering everywhere in a mess.

The names **Hiiragizawa Eriol** , **Daidouji Tomoyo** , **Li Mei Lin** , **Li Yuan** , **Li Yelan** , and **Wang Wei** were printed in large bold fonts in different pages.

"I already knew all this without your help. Everyone who knows Li does. I better not be paying the amount I agreed on with your boss for this kind of-"

"Calm yourself Mister Kim," Yao said in his usual seedy tone of voice. "This is just an initial run through. We need to learn as much about Li as possible and see where he's most vulnerable. This is how we operate. If you can't get close to the person himself, then we get to those closest to him. In order to lure out the fish you want, you need to use the right and most effective bait."

* * *

Tomoyo shuddered and slowly opened her eyes.

Lying next to her and equally naked as she was, Eriol shifted and pulled her closer to him.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

They had spent nearly the entire day only having sex and lounging around the hotel room without bothering to put their clothes on since they always ended up taking them off a while later anyway.

"Nothing. Just suddenly felt cold."

Eriol turned to the window as if by instinct when she said this and was surprised to see that it was raining. It was already late at night but just a few hours ago in the afternoon, the sky was quite clear and gave no indication at all that it would be raining that day.

He turned towards the night stand and made a grab for his cell phone.

"What're you doing?" Tomoyo asked him as he started sliding his finger across the screen.

His brows rose as he read whatever it was on the display.

"I think this rain is from the storm that chased us off the island."

"What do you mean?"

"I guess it moved quicker than expected. That's good news for Syaoran and Sakura at least."

At the mention of her newfound friend, Tomoyo sighed before resting her chin on Eriol's bare chest.

"I miss Sakura already. I can't wait to see her again. I really liked talking to her. She's a very sweet girl you know? She's unlike most girls our age nowadays. She seems like the innocent and obedient type."

* * *

"Of course you're not," Syaoran muttered when he stepped out a while later only to see the broken shards of glass neatly piled inside a reinforced trash bag. The thick gloves which were supposed to be in the storage shed were laid neatly on the floor beside it.

Yes, she definitely wasn't the obedient type especially not when her mind was set on doing something. She simply looked the part of one.

"Hmm?" Sakura looked up at him with an innocent expression while she went on setting the table.

"Nothing," he said with a little shake of his head. "Are you done cooking? Need any help?"

"You can just sit down," she said in the very same tone he had used on her earlier when he insisted she take a bath instead of helping him with the cleaning. "I'm already done. I cooked up something simple so it didn't take long."

Syaoran walked over towards her and planted his lips on her forehead. She blushed.

"W-What?"

He looked at her closely and couldn't help but sigh before pressing his forehead against hers.

 _I think I like you more than I would ever dare to admit right now,_ he answered in his head, But out loud he said "Nothing at all."

* * *

The following weeks came in a blur until roughly two months had passed. And during that time, Sakura felt like she was living a dream… even if they've never had sex since that first time.

At first Sakura had thought Syaoran regretted ever touching her but she was quickly proven otherwise by the fact that he often grabbed every opportunity he could find to kiss her and do _every_ other thing he could think of with her except going all the way.

When Sakura brought this up with him, he simply said it was because they shouldn't be reckless about it. They didn't have any form of protection on the island and the last thing either of them needed was to get Sakura pregnant.

After hearing his explanation, Sakura felt more touched than ever that he took her own future into consideration, mainly because she never even thought about this possibility on her own.

So since then, they've simply lived on Seven doing anything and everything they could think of. Swimming, fishing, clamming, exploring (though Sakura was particularly wary of this), building sand castles, watching movies, experimenting with cooking, playing board games and puzzles left by Eriol and Tomoyo… they did it all and between all that, a lot of flirting and fooling around also took place that the pair of them quite probably have memorized every part of each other's bodies.

At first Sakura was extremely hesitant and self-conscious, but with Syaoran coaxing her into baring herself to him day after day and showering her with praises of how perfect he thought she was… it would make any girl submit.

But as more and more days passed, Sakura couldn't help but think of Eriol more and more. The words he had left behind haunted her and even more so now that she had developed this kind of relationship with Syaoran.

Did his words back then still apply now? Will all this be broken when they leave the island?

Deep down, she knew she would be unable to forget Syaoran now. Not after everything they've done and been through since setting foot on Seven.

Sakura sighed. Eriol had said that she and Syaoran would be out of the island after three months at most. Two months and six days have already passed and she couldn't help the feeling that the day he had meant was coming _very_ soon.

"What are you sighing about?"

Sakura jumped as she felt his breath close against her ear and without even bothering to ask, he shamelessly pulled up the bottom hem of her dress to run his hand onto her bare skin. One of his hands immediately settled with probing the spot between her legs through her underwear while the other travelled even higher before slipping through her bra to touch her breast.

Gasping in both surprise (Sakura still couldn't get used to this despite her willingness to participate) and pleasure.

She leaned back against his wide and muscular chest and was pleased to find that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

"Hmm?" Syaoran asked again and rather calmly despite what he was currently doing to her.

Sakura couldn't even get a word out. Instead, her breathing hitched as she felt his fingers finally slip through the thin fabric separating him from his objective.

Weak in the knees, she felt herself loose what little strength she had left in her legs before they finally gave way and Syaoran caught her.

A chuckle escaped between his lips and he immediately withdrew both his hands to start fixing her clothes.

When he smoothed out her dress, leaving no indication at all that he did what he did save for the slight flush on Sakura's face, he pulled her around to face him.

"So? What were you sighing about?" he asked again.

He had a boyishly satisfied grin on his handsome face that Sakura couldn't even find it in herself to get angry at him for teasing her like that so shamelessly… and not even finishing.

Instead, Sakura sighed again and rested her head against his chest.

"It's nothing," she lied to him. She knew that he knew that she was lying and was surprised when he didn't say anything except wrap his arms around her. "Syaoran?"

"I just want to stay like this a little," he said before pressing his face against the top of her head and breathing in her scent, this had become a habit of his ever since they got close. He found it intoxicating.

This surprised Sakura even more than that little groping session that happened just now. Despite how close she and Syaoran have become in the last couple of weeks, he was still not the type to admit and say these kinds of things easily… that is, except when they were high with lust and engaged in _extremely_ intimate activities. Then he would just about say anything that would make the dirtiest woman alive blush.

Sakura bit her lip.

He knew, she was sure of it. Though Syaoran was the complete opposite of Sakura when it came to hiding thoughts, even she was able to pick up something from his mood lately. She never mentioned it to him basically because she didn't want to admit there was a change. A change would mean it was the end to their little blissful world.

But there was no denying it now.

"Syaoran?"

"Hmm?"

"Are we going to leave this island soon?"

He didn't reply right away.

Instead, he pulled back slightly in order to look down and see her face.

"You'll be home soon."

When he said these words, Sakura could feel a large portion of her heart break. They were technically together… or, were they? They never actually discussed their relationship since neither of them brought it up nor felt the need to. They had just been acting purely on instinct and their need for intimacy.

So, what now? What should they do now?

Sakura waited for him to say more after this. She wanted him to say that they could always stay together even after they leave the island, or that they could start dating properly once they get back to civilization.

They looked at each other for a long while, simply staring into each other's eyes and getting lost in them.

Sakura waited… and waited… and waited…

But Syaoran never said anything.

* * *

He woke up as usual the next day. There was no indication at all as to the sudden dip in his relationship with Sakura after their little talk the previous night. But whenever he closed his eyes for longer than a second, he couldn't help but remember the look on her face. It was both that of hurt and hope at the same time.

For the past few weeks, his head has been completely wrapped around her and it mostly involved them being intimate. Her pleasure stricken face, her lust-filled moans… but now… all that his brain could process or care to remember was her face last night.

When Sakura finally voiced the very thing he had been thinking about for a while now, Syaoran was finally forced to face the reality he had been purposefully avoiding.

Just like he knew Sakura had been thinking about the end of their little dream, he too had been doing the same.

The three month mark that Eriol gave was nearing and that man, much like himself, always stuck to his word. He _will_ come and soon.

Fan had returned to restock supplies for them a month ago but now they were running low on everything. He should have been back by now to restock their supplies again had it been planned that Syaoran and Sakura were to stay there the full three months. But he didn't and Syaoran could only assume that Eriol told the sailor not to bother delivering any more since they'll be leaving the island before they'll need them.

Syaoran got out of bed and quickly threw on a fresh shirt before heading out and walking directly towards the kitchen. He checked the contents of the fridge and the cabinets. There was probably enough to last them for another week and a half, but since Fan couldn't have accounted for them to eat fresh fish and clams, he might assume that their food supply will only last for another five days.

"Five days huh…"

* * *

"What do you mean?"

" _I do have my contacts Mister Kim"_

Yao's voice was rather smug as he said this.

"Then this is good news… yes, this is very good news. What do we do from here?"

" _My men and I can take care of everything so you don't have to g-"_

"No!"

"Joon-ho?"

When he heard his name, he quickly covered his cell phone and looked up towards the closed door. He was currently inside the toilet of the restaurant he and his friends were currently having dinner at.

"Joon-ho? You all right in there? You're taking quite a while."

"I'm fine! I'll be right out!" he shouted before turning around and covering his phone with his hand before speaking into it. "I'll give you a call later Yao. Start coming up with a plan. But when you finally get your hands on Li, I _will_ be there and you won't do a thing until then. Once you get an estimate to his return to Hong Kong or wherever he'll turn up, tell me and I'll get on a plane before then."

* * *

Syaoran was wrong.

Fan didn't come to pick them up five days later. He didn't even come three days later, which he thought was more likely. Instead, the young captain had actually showed up the very next day… and he didn't come alone.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

A little more reveal on the bad guys!

The next chapters will bring even more information about them so thank you guys for the patience. I know I have kept them in the dark for so long. It is about time things started rolling.

Syaoran and Sakura can't stay in their little bubble forever after all. (Unfortunately.)

Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!

'Til next time! Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	12. What are you thinking?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

First things first...

 _ **MERRY CHRiSTMAS** everyone!_ Not sure what time/day it is for everyone else right now but where I'm from, it's officially Christmas day. So, _cheers_ ~! I hope you guys are having fun celebrating with family and friends during this time! Also, consider this update as my gift for you guys so I hope you'll like it. :) I originally hadn't planned on uploading this chapter until I write more for the next chapter but screw it... it's Christmas!

I know I haven't updated as fast as I had between the last two chapters. That's because I've been caught up with other stuff lately. I have been writing still but unfortunately I didn't have any inspiration for **Paradise**. I've been writing an entirely different story which I'll probably upload when this one is finished.

This chapter is the last one I have written for this story so the next update will probably take a while longer to be uploaded. I'll try to wrack my brain for good stuff to write though so that I won't keep you guys waiting for too long for _Chapter Thirteen_.

That said, do enjoy!

* * *

 **Chapter Twelve**

 _ **"What are you thinking?"**_

* * *

Sakura looked up when the bedroom door opened.

She was in the middle of packing her- or rather, Tomoyo's –belongings. Syaoran had told her to not bother with them but she insisted. They weren't hers after all and she wanted to make sure that she returned the things she had borrowed to its owner properly.

Her emerald eyes met Syaoran's amber ones. She didn't look away, that particular habit of hers had slowly disappeared ever since she discovered just how handsome the man was. If anything, her bigger problem now was keeping her eyes off of him.

"What's wrong?"

The look on Syaoran's face wasn't troubled but it wasn't his usual cool and unfazed expression either. When she said this, his expression immediately changed and quite effortlessly too.

He threw her a small casual smile and approached her just as she zipped the luggage bag close- another one of Tomoyo's possessions. Everything she had ever left was now stowed away neatly inside it save for the denim shorts and tank top she was currently wearing and the one white dress hanging inside the closet. Sakura planned on wearing the latter during their journey back to civilization.

Syaoran sat on the edge of the bed next to Sakura without saying a word.

Her eyes followed him and she looked at him expectantly. Surely he didn't come inside without a reason to?

"How are you feeling?" he asked eventually. He too was holding her gaze.

"I-" Sakura had planned on replying with an automatic "I'm fine" but somehow her voice wouldn't let her voice out this obvious lie.

As she looked even closer into Syaoran's eyes, she realized that there was something there that was akin to… uncertainty.

"I don't know," she finally said, deciding on being truthful. This may very well be their last meaningful and private conversation on the island.

Neither of them looked away and neither of them said anything for a while.

Minutes of silence ticked by until Sakura finally looked away first. She could feel her face starting to heat up and she knew it wasn't just because of embarrassment at being stared at by such a gorgeous man. She was getting hot, a feeling that had been growing in intensity and frequency since their little _tête-à-tête_ in the cave.

But who could blame her?

Sakura was a woman in her prime. It's normal to crave for intimacy especially when you're in the presence of someone the likes of Li Syaoran and have already been previously given a taste of what exactly entails with the man. Not to mention, their growing closeness these past weeks although satisfying where the butterflies in her stomach were concerned, they were hardly close to satisfying a more pressing need she felt in that certain point between her legs. If anything, it only pushed her needs to unimaginable lengths.

When she turned away, Syaoran sighed and lowered his head to rest on her shoulder.

"What's wrong? What are you thinking?" she asked just for the sake of having something to talk about. The heat now radiating through her body was growing even more just by the casual contact.

"Honestly?" he asked.

"Yes?" she said a little confused.

"I'm thinking of whether I should go through with what I had been thinking earlier or not," he admitted and it hardly escaped both their notice that his voice had taken on a huskier and even urgent tone to it.

Sakura shifted a little but she didn't stiffen which was the reaction Syaoran had expected. If anything, he could almost feel her own eagerness despite her not saying anything. Of course he knew what this meant and this reaction of hers only made him feel more compelled to really let go of what was left of his reason.

His hands retracted into tight fists.

"You're really something," he grumbled and there was a hint of hilarity as he said this.

"I didn't say anything," she mumbled back against his hair.

Syaoran finally pulled away and looked at her face closely. She looked as eager as he imagined and though this would normally put him off since he was never one for desperate women, it made her look endearing. What she wanted was clear on her face but her embarrassment was also clearly there.

He could feel the already pulsing heat in his nether regions grow tenfold.

Without warning, he stood up and pulled Sakura along with him.

Startled, Sakura let him tug her after him as he proceeded towards the door and out the bedroom.

When they stepped outside, three men sitting around the dining table and discussing something in low voices caught Sakura's attention. They were all wearing black and they all had huge builds, even bigger than Syaoran which in itself was already saying something.

All three pairs of eyes looked up towards them but they didn't say anything, neither did Syaoran pay them any mind as he continued to pull Sakura after him towards his bedroom.

When the bedroom door closed behind them, he turned around to face her and wordlessly held both of Sakura's hands.

"Syaoran," she said a little rattled from the sight of the men outside. Her face was also a bright shade of red from embarrassment at being caught being dragged into Syaoran's bedroom.

When the yacht made its appearance earlier, Fan came to shore by himself and had told them that they were all leaving the island as soon as they were ready to go. It was at this that Syaoran sent Sakura to her room to start putting away things and pack.

She didn't know any more details and she also didn't know that the young captain had come with anyone else.

"Who were those m-"

But Sakura didn't get to finish her question as Syaoran deftly yanked both her wrists and held it effortlessly with one hand before pinning them over her head.

There was a resounding thud when her knuckles knocked against the wood and when Syaoran pressed his body up against hers. Her back banged even louder onto the door but she wasn't able to protest- not that she felt like doing so anyway –as his lips slammed against hers.

When he jutted his lower half shamelessly, she immediately felt the unmistakable and significant bulge of Syaoran's arousal press against her.

Sakura gave a throaty moan as they continued to kiss even more erratically and Syaoran started grinding himself against her in response.

This very erotic gesture made Sakura gasp in surprised pleasure and he took the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth.

Their tongues moved back and forth without stopping for a long time that when they finally pulled away to breathe properly, they were both panting like excited dogs in heat.

But apparently something like oxygen was the last thing in Syaoran's list of priorities at that moment.

"S-Syaoran," Sakura gasped again as his lips descended onto her neck and he gave a strong tug over the front of her tank top with his free hand.

They could both hear a tearing sound but this didn't stop him from achieving his original purpose and Sakura neither had the strength nor desire to make him stop either.

"Ahhh," Sakura moaned as his hand took hold of her now bare breast. He continued his ministrations for a while and the more he did so the more restless Sakura felt. "S-Syaoran, let go of me."

She had said this in such a pained voice that Syaoran actually did stop long enough to look at her, wondering if he had hurt her accidentally somehow.

When their eyes met however, it was clear that Sakura had said those words not because she disliked it. Her eyes were on fire and she looked desperate, probably more so than he looked at that very moment.

Syaoran finally loosened his hold on her wrists and when Sakura broke free from his grasp, she all but jumped on him. Her hand immediately made it through his hair and she held a firm grip on his chocolate brown locks.

Shocked but clearly pleased with this kind of reaction, he caught her easily and again their lips came together in another fierce and lust-filled exchange.

* * *

Syaoran grabbed a pair of light cotton pants from his closet and pulled it on.

He felt incredibly satisfied. The unending tension he felt through his body from being deprived of sex with the woman who was currently lying fast asleep on his bed was finally lifted, and it was only possible… four straight rounds of passionate sex later.

That was the longest and most intense exchange he had ever experienced in his entire life that the ardent moans and screaming of Sakura were still ringing in his ears.

He couldn't help but grant himself a self-satisfactory smirk at the memory.

With one last glance towards Sakura, he quietly left the room.

The door closed silently behind him and he was met with the early morning light coming through the glass windows.

He had intended to start their departure late in the evening yesterday but had changed his mind and informed Fan that they were to leave early the next morning instead. He had things to settle with before they could leave the island.

Things would either end up good or bad for him when they reach the mainland so he wanted to take that time to fully enjoy himself before then… just in case. (If things somehow go wrong and he does end up back in prison, he won't have any more chances to feel the warmth of Sakura or any woman for that matter.)

Not only that, but Syaoran didn't know what would happen now where Sakura was concerned. It may very well be the last time he could do this sort of thing with her even if things go right or wrong later on.

Even though his relationship with her was now at this point, they still knew virtually nothing about each other. What if Sakura had a boyfriend? Or even a child? What if things won't go as planned and he'd end up back in prison? What if something or another causes them to be unable to stay in contact after this? Also, how would Sakura react when she finds out who he really was? What would she think when she finds out his past?

There were far too many possibilities that it made Syaoran think that his decision last night was the reasonable and obvious way to go… this may be their last so he may as well indulge and enjoy it.

But then… even if it wasn't their last chance to be together, there's also still the fact that neither of them have voiced their real feelings for the other. Though it was clear to both of them now that they held a strong sexual desire for the other, they still didn't really know what they felt about each other beyond their lust. Sure Syaoran can easily assume that Sakura loved him but she never said the words out loud to confirm it. There were also his own feelings which he still couldn't place. He knew now that he not only felt lust for her but that he truly cared for her… even _liked_ her, more so than he had with any other woman before her.

But again there was the fact that their circumstances were different. They were forcefully stuck on an island with no one for company but themselves. Who knows if the feelings they have for each other now will persist when they get back to the real world?

Syaoran sighed. Everything was out of order, starting with how they met and even now when they were about to part.

"Good morning."

The sudden greeting surprised Syaoran, one because he had been lost in thought and another because it had been a while since he heard someone greet him a good morning like that and coming from a male… and in Chinese.

Syaoran looked up towards the kitchen island where a well-built man whose dark hair was in a crew cut. He was standing dressed in clothes of black and was even wearing black leather shoes which looked really out of place considering where they were.

"Morning Jin," he replied before heading towards him.

"Coffee?"

Syaoran nodded and sat on one of the bar stools.

Jin prepared his drink for him and slid the mug across the kitchen island towards him.

"Thanks," Syaoran muttered.

"Have you decided when we should depart?"

Syaoran glanced at the nearest clock which read 5:09 in the morning.

"In an hour," he decided. He'll have to wake Sakura in half an hour. She never took very long whenever she showered so that would give her enough time to bathe and eat a quick breakfast. "Is everything prepared?"

"Yes. You should rest at least a little before we depart."

Though Jin's face didn't give anything away (as usual), the way he worded that sentence was clear that he knew just what transpired in the bedroom and the fact that Syaoran didn't get enough sleep because of it.

"I'll sleep on the boat," he told him quite indifferently before sipping from his mug.

He and Sakura didn't bother to keep their voices down at all the previous night and that's just how he liked it. Plus, hearing Sakura's screams and moans got him off even more. He was sure the men heard them loud and clear if they were anywhere inside the house at the time, though there was also the possibility that Jin sent the other men back to the yacht to give Syaoran privacy. Even if that were so however, Syaoran was still sure that Jin himself was in the house during all that. Before he landed himself in prison, Jin was always close by unless Syaoran specifically dismisses him, and that's something he never bothered to do before he and Sakura locked themselves in his bedroom.

Syaoran downed the rest of his coffee slowly and when he finally finished, he stretched a little before going towards the direction of the bathroom.

"Wake the men when you're done," he instructed.

"Yes sir," Jin replied. "Oh, and Mister Li…"

Stopping in his tracks, Syaoran looked over his shoulders towards him.

"I'm glad to see you again sir."

Jin had said this in his usual monotonous tone with his usual poker face that anyone who had heard this would have thought he was insincere. But Syaoran knew Jin. After all the man had worked for him for a decade now- or seven years to be precise owing to the fact that they haven't seen each other while he was in prison. Despite this however, it was clear by his actions since he descended the yacht the previous day that the older man hadn't changed, not in his habits or in his loyalty for his employer.

"Glad to see you too Jin."

* * *

Sakura looked up at the large man above her nervously. He looked quite intimidating and it wasn't just because of his size. His dark eyes and serious features also made him look scarier than he would have otherwise.

"Sakura this is Wei Jin. Jin, this is Kinomoto Sakura," Syaoran said. He was currently holding on to Sakura's hand whilst they stood on the inflatable speedboat which had carried them to the yacht.

Jin nodded towards her politely. His outstretched hand was still held towards her as he waited for her to take it so he could help her onto the yacht.

"H-Hello," she greeted with an awkward smile before she placed her much smaller hand on his.

She was practically lifted onto the yacht and Jin didn't look like he even felt her weight in the slightest.

"A-Ah thank you, Mister Wei."

"Please just call me Jin," he said before he too gave Syaoran a hand.

"But…"

"It's fine. He doesn't find it rude," Syaoran told her as he walked over towards where she was standing in wait on the deck. "No one ever calls him Wei. It gets confusing since there's someone else under my family's employ with that surname. So everyone despite age or rank calls him Jin."

Sakura nodded at this as she watched Jin and one other man whom she was told was called "Gao" who had driven the speedboat earlier, start deflating the raft and pulling the engine onto the deck.

She and Syaoran watched the pair work for a while before he started tugging for her to follow him inside.

When Sakura saw the interior, it was then that she noticed that this was a different yacht from the one Tomoyo and Eriol had come in months ago. It wasn't as large as the one they had come in though it looked equally as luxurious.

Unlike the other yacht where you're led into a short hallway when you enter the door from the back deck, this one led directly into a living area with several doors on the opposite end which led to several more rooms.

The sound of clicking had the pair turn towards one of the doors that had just opened across from them. A man exited from whatever room it was and was clearly startled when he caught sight of them standing there.

"Ah, good morning Mister Li," he said with a clumsy bow that looked comical to Sakura. This man looked to be the youngest of the three men that had come to the island with Fan but also the largest.

She couldn't suppress the small smile that showed up on her face as he said this.

"Chang," Syaoran greeted and he gestured towards Sakura. "This is Kinomoto Sakura. Sakura, Chang."

"Good morning Miss Kinomoto," he said with a more proper bow now and though his lips weren't upturned instead kept in a passive line, the look on his face still looked fairly boyish and playful to her.

"Good morning to you too Mister…" it was when she said this that Sakura was unsure now if "Chang" was his first name or his surname. Syaoran had introduced Gao in the same manner too. It was only with Jin that Syoaran indicated a surname.

"Just Chang is fine," he said and a hint of a grin escaped one corner of his mouth.

Sakura smiled at this and nodded.

Syaoran raised an amused brow at Sakura then at Chang who- when he caught Syaoran's eye –immediately put on a serious mask over his face. In Syaoran's opinion however this didn't do much since the man still looked fairly jolly. He was the same age as Chang but they couldn't be any more unlike each other. However Chang did remind Syaoran of Eriol… though a much less conniving version of him.

"Go and help Jin and Gao with the speedboat and tell Fan to head on out as soon as everything's in order."

"Yes sir," he said before quickly walking around the furniture and past them towards the glass doors leading outside.

Sakura couldn't help but notice the similarities between the three men and it wasn't just the dark clothes or intimidating features they had about them that were the same. They all exuded the same air, like of people who were clearly lower in rank. Of course this was already obvious to her with how they addressed Syaoran as "Mister Li" or "Sir" but there was still something about how they acted…

"What exactly are they working as?"

This question surprised Syaoran though he didn't show it on his face. He didn't answer her until he led her onto one of the sofas. He sat down next to her with an arm over the back of the sofa behind her.

"Jin's a driver," he said rather vaguely in Sakura's opinion. _A driver of what exactly?_ She couldn't help but remember Syaoran's mysteriousness. She had been ignoring the fact that she knew so little about him despite the amount of time they spent together and the degree of things they've already done. It all seemed pointless to know back then but now Sakura couldn't push those thoughts back anymore.

She had initially assumed that Eriol was the one calling the shots but she also felt like that didn't seem so. Though it was clear that Syaoran was relying on Eriol for some reason or another still unknown to Sakura, it also didn't seem like Eriol was the one on top of everything in the current situation.

Then there was still the fact that she didn't know where Seven was. An artificial private island which they managed to occupy for so long without disturbance… did Eriol really own the island? Though Eriol exuded a very strong and even rich presence, he didn't seem like the type to own his own island. But then who did? And just who was Syaoran to have connections with those kinds of people?

There are also these three men who undoubtedly looked like guards of some sort and they seem to have a really familiar relationship with Syaoran. What kind of relationship did they have? Somehow Sakura felt like they answered to Syaoran directly instead of being employees sent by someone to be with Syaoran.

Sakura stole a sideways glance at Syaoran who was currently looking out of the large rectangular window to his side.

Even if she didn't know much about him, Sakura thought she had the gist of the man next to him, at least to a certain extent.

Syaoran had looks that would rival a movie star and a body that could easily compete with a top model. His manners and attitude, though very hard to deal with at first, was nothing less than that of being a gentleman. There's also the fact that his cooking skills weren't anything impressive. They were even less than average.

With just these, one would easily assume that he had come from a very well-off family.

But then there were his rougher aspects. His rugged appearance and the manner in which they first met made Sakura think that this man could only have come from difficult place. But as soon as he groomed himself and the change in his personality as time passed seemed…

Suddenly Sakura felt sick.

She was thinking far too much of many things she didn't even understand.

Then her vision suddenly swayed form left to right.

Sakura looked outside and she could see that they were actually moving forward. They were heading towards the entrance of the cove and the waves were getting stronger as they did. Realizing this, Sakura could feel her stomach turn. Se had forgotten about her seasickness.

"Sakura."

She turned towards Syaoran and she was immediately met with his lips in a gentle kiss.

The feeling in her stomach intensified although this time it mingled with a more pleasant reaction.

"We'll stay out on the deck so your seasickness doesn't get too intense as soon as we're clear of the waves around the island."

Grateful, she nodded wordlessly.

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to tell me," he added before planting his lips onto hers again for yet another kiss.

When they pulled apart Sakura looked into his eyes and couldn't help the elated feeling she felt whenever she did so.

 _Who exactly are you?_ These were the words Sakura wanted to tell him and needed the answer of.

Syaoran looked back at her, waiting for her to say whatever was clearly on her mind.

But Sakura didn't give a reply not because she didn't dare ask but because she couldn't. All thoughts about him and other more important things had flown out the window when she felt the boat lurch violently as it hit the waves roughly. The yacht was moving this way and that so much that Sakura was sure if she even opened her mouth a little bit, her entire breakfast would make an unwanted reappearance.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

Ah, I know some of you guys were expecting something really good or bad from Fan arriving on the island with "company." Sorry to disappoint you that it's no one particularly important or game changing. xD

Like I said in my note before this chapter started, the next chapter is currently being written so don't expect an update anytime soon. I'll try to finish it and prep it for uploading as soon as I can though. I'm not sure when exactly I'll put it up but for sure it'll come within the month of January.

Please look forward to it but also please be patient for it.

'Til then, _Happy Holidays_! Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


	13. Are you all right?

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CCS, Clamp does. But I do own this story.

 **Pairings:** Syaoran x Sakura, Eriol x Tomoyo

* * *

 **Chapter Thirteen**

 **"** _ **Are you all right?"**_

* * *

Nine hours or so have passed when the yacht had finally slowed down.

The sudden decrease of sound from the engine and of the yacht crashing against the waves prompted Syaoran to open his eyes. He was currently sitting on one of the sofas lining the back deck with Sakura next to him. She had fallen asleep with her head resting on his lap.

When he looked around, there was no land in sight. Instead there was another yacht not too far from them.

"We have made contact Mister Li."

Syaoran looked towards the side of the yacht where Jin had appeared.

"Eriol?"

The large man nodded. "Fan will initiate the final approach once the waves settle down a little to avoid a collision."

With a nod at Jin, Syaoran took a nearby pillow and slowly lifted Sakura's head so as not to wake her. He succeeded in doing so a while later and rested the pillow beneath her before making his way towards the front deck of the boat.

As soon as he did, Syaoran caught sight of a distant Eriol waving an arm in the air.

* * *

"We planted the bait and reeled him in magnificently," Eriol announced happily.

"What do you mean?"

"That time _he_ came to Hong Kong, he hired the help of the Zhong Group."

At the mention of the largest mafia group based in Hong Kong which had many connections all over China, Syaoran stared at him. He wasn't particularly afraid of this fact but more surprised.

"How much did he pay to get them to help him?"

"I can't say for sure, my sources don't go that far to know that much. But anyway, after we found out about this, I've had people keep a look out. Tomoyo and I are most likely their prime targets besides you of course, but I also found out that they had people on your parents and even on Wei as well."

Syaoran frowned at this.

"Mei Lin's been in America for the last four years, but I've arranged for her to have guards just in case. No real news from her end though so I'm assuming she's safer there than she would have been had she been in Hong Kong."

"So you were right, they're really targeting anyone who's close to me."

"From how he's been acting, it only made sense that he'd pay for help and who better to help him with this kind of thing than the mafia. He's not exactly lacking in the money department at any rate so he's able to afford it. But that's also where he made his mistake since hiring the mafia only made the outcome predictable. I've dealt with far too many cases involving them that it's easy to see what they plan to do before they even think about it."

Syaoran looked thoughtful for a while, his brows furrowed as his brain ran from one thought to another.

"What is it?" Eriol asked noticing the bothered look on his face.

"What did you plan exactly for when I returned? Since you came all the way out here which is suspicious enough and without so much as a cover, the Zhong and even the government should be watching you and must suspect that you're doing something with me involved."

"The Zhong are already aware of the details. If things went smoothly on the inside, they're well aware by now that I've come here with plans to take you back to Hong Kong through Shanghai. I've even given them enough details so we'll know when to expect their interference. As for the government, well, I'll let them catch up to us however they can. What we should do is bait _him_ before that happens."

"Go on," Syaoran said as he leaned forward to listen to him closely.

"The way I see it, he seems to want to deal with you personally. He either wants to talk to you before anything else or he probably just has a score he personally wants to settle, who knows. But he has been acting rashly. The moment I let the hint drop that I'm bringing you back, I was told that he booked the next flight he could find bound for Hong Kong then to Shanghai shortly after that. He'll most likely confront us as soon as he finds the opportunity. But when he does, that'll be the time for us to take him down instead. I've readied a large group of men for this purpose to ensure we succeed. But we'll still need to be careful. The guy he's been working with from the Zhong, Chen Yao, is one of the bigger underbosses. Though Chen's the one doing most of the dirty work he's also better at working without getting too involved. We'll have to find something against him later on if we want to catch him as well."

Syaoran nodded at this. Everything was coming together now. If they could somehow get _him_ into custody with enough evidence, all this will be over… though admittedly, it all sounded way too easy and simple than it actually was.

And there's also still one other thing…

"What have you got planned for Sakura?"

"She should be safe once she lands in Japan so I've booked a flight for her that'll take her to Tokyo straight from Shanghai. We're surely going to be watched as soon as we dock so we'll be leaving first and then a couple of men I brought with me currently on standby at the harbor will take Sakura to a secure location. She'll lay low there for a while until her flight then she'll be taken to the airport. There shouldn't be any problems on her end but I'll have a couple of guards accompany her at all times until she boards."

At this, Syaoran nodded without saying a word. Eriol had everything planned to the finest detail. He didn't expect anything less from his best friend and this added to his feeling of reassurance that things just might go as smoothly as they hoped.

"The bigger issue here is how we pin down that bastard," Eriol added a while later, sounding irritated. The very thought of the man really messed with his mood. "Once we get to the mainland, I should get information as to where he and the group he hired are staying. I've readied a big enough group to confront him but even if we do, without evidence to keep him… it'll be pointless in the end even if we catch him successfully."

Syaoran furrowed his brows in thought and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You said _he_ 's been acting rashly lately?"

"Just the way I see it, judging from his movements."

"Then that'll be our chance. If he's panicky about me escaping prison and hearing about my return, he'll be the likeliest person to screw up. If he doesn't, there are always other methods to get a man to talk…"

Eriol turned to Syaoran as he said this. He was currently looking out into the vast unending sea but his eyes weren't gazing casually into the distance, instead they were glaring fiercely with what looked to be murder in its depths.

"I can't wait to get my hands on that bastard," Syaoran hissed a while later and it was when he said this that Eriol noted how tightly his hands were fisted.

It was clear that Syaoran was slowly working himself up into a rage, and Eriol couldn't blame him, nor did he attempt to calm him down. Three years of his life had been wasted in prison for a crime he didn't commit after all, who could blame him?

In fact, Eriol was more surprised that no hint of his anger or resentment had come out at all until this point in time. When he met him on the island, Syaoran seemed calm enough as if uncaring of his situation and the cause of it all. It was probably because he was helpless on Seven (not to mention he had enough of a distraction in the form of a beautiful young woman). From there, he couldn't do anything even if he wanted to. But now, knowing that his enemy was as close at hand than ever, he was probably finally realizing and releasing his real unrestricted feelings.

"I'm going to kill him…" Syaoran added and now it wasn't just his face that was cruel and menacing, even his voice too. He sounded like he really was ready to kill someone and at this point, his body was already exuding a very murderous aura.

Looking at him now, Eriol wouldn't be surprised if he really will end up committing the very crime he had been convicted of.

* * *

Breathing short and shallow breaths, Sakura walked back down the railed path that had been set up between both yachts. When her feet landed back on the yacht she had been on with Syaoran before they stopped, her legs nearly gave way but she gripped on the nearest railing with cold trembling fingers and forced herself to walk down towards the back deck where she had fallen asleep earlier.

As soon as she reached the nearest cushion, she collapsed on top of it, eyes still wide with shock, confusion… and fear.

What had she just heard?

When she woke up earlier after hearing the footsteps of men passing by earlier (they were moving large containers of what Sakura assumed was gasoline or some kind of fuel to the engine room), she was told that Syaoran was on the other yacht with Eriol. Sakura didn't even know that there had been plans to meet Eriol but upon hearing his name, she perked up at once. If Eriol was there, then Tomoyo would probably be there as well.

So it was to Sakura's surprise to find out that it was only the two men talking in low voices. She was in the middle of climbing the swirling stairs towards where they were when the mention of her name reached her ears, in which she immediately came to a dead stop.

"… _at the harbor will take Sakura to a secure location. She'll lay low there for a while until her flight then she'll be taken to the airport. There shouldn't be any problems on her end at all but I'll have a couple of guards accompany her at all times until she boards."_

When she heard this, she was hesitant. How could she interrupt their conversation when they were talking about her? She was about to retreat back down the stairs and just wait on deck until they finished when Eriol's voice spoke again, and it was in an irritated tone that Sakura wouldn't have expected to hear from him.

They were talking about things… about someone… but it didn't make sense to her at all.

At this point, Sakura really had planned to take her leave. She had already begun to do so slowly so as to not make any noise to alert the men above that she had overheard a part of their conversation.

But as she did so, Sakura froze again when she heard Syaoran's words.

" _If he's panicky about me escaping prison and hearing about my return, he'll be the likeliest person to screw up…"_

 _Prison…?_ Sakura thought blinking rapidly now as she thought of the words Syaoran had said in such a serious tone that there was no doubt in her mind that he wasn't joking even by a tiniest bit when he said this. _Syaoran escaped from… prison…? He was a criminal?! An escaped convict?!_

The words wouldn't register correctly in her brain at all.

Then there was his ominous statement after he said this…

" _I can't wait to get my hands on that bastard… I'm going to kill him…"_

A chill ran through Sakura's spine as she recalled the words and the way Syaoran said it.

She had never heard him speak in such a tone. His tone was so icy unlike the soothing and warm one he always used when he was talking to her. Was that really Syaoran?

Sakura shivered once again. She felt like a bucket of ice cold water had been dunked over her head.

 _BANG!_

The sudden loud sound shocked Sakura that she almost let out a scream of fright. She looked up and her gaze met with Jin who had just closed the door that led into the yacht behind him.

"Is there something the matter Miss Kinomoto?" he inquired when he noticed the expression on her face.

Sakura gulped rather audibly and shook her head stiffly in response. "N-Nothing at all."

Jin looked at her curiously for a while before nodding and taking his leave.

 _What do I do…?_ Sakura thought, now panicking. She couldn't relax at all.

If Syaoran was an escaped convict and Eriol was helping him, that means these men whoever they are, are just as bad as…

Sakura's thoughts made her stop abruptly. Are they bad? Hadn't she concluded that Syaoran wasn't bad? Not Eriol, and especially not Tomoyo either. Hadn't she thought that if they really were bad people, then something bad should have happened to her while she was on Seven?

 _But why was Syaoran in prison? Not only that, he even_ escaped _! If he really was good, then he shouldn't be anywhere near a prison in the first place. So the reason why he's been stuck in Seven is_ this _? Because he was hiding from authorities?!_

Sakura's mind was so jumbled up with her conflicting thoughts that she had failed to notice a man approaching her until he was standing right in front of her.

"Are you all right Sakura?"

At this, she managed to let out a short but very high-pitched scream that made her sound like a chick.

Her eyes flew upwards and were met with Syaoran's amber gaze. He was looking down at her with a surprised look.

"Are you all right?" he repeated, and this time he looked ready to laugh.

Seeing his expression made Sakura blush immediately. Did she look comical just now? She almost wanted to smack herself for doing something so embarrassing in front of him.

"I- no- yes, I'm perfectly fine. Y-You just surprised me," she said with a hallow laugh that didn't escape his notice.

Syaoran leaned forward and rested his hands on either side of her on the back rest of the cushioned sofa.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his face a mere inch away from hers. His eyes were looking deeply into hers and were slowly lowering to look at her pink lips.

"Y-Yes…" she said in a whisper before he closed the distance between them and planted his lips firmly on hers.

* * *

 _Are you stupid?!_ Sakura screamed to herself inside her head.

She was currently in the bathroom inside the yacht after she excused herself from Syaoran minutes earlier.

 _He's a criminal!_ she added fiercely while looking at her reflection. _Don't get caught up in his pace! He's been keeping a lot of things from you because he's a criminal! That's why he doesn't talk about himself much. Get a grip Sakura!_

As Sakura continued to scold herself, she became even more distraught.

Why hadn't Syaoran told her? Why hadn't Eriol… why hadn't Tomoyo?! They've been hiding this one crucial bit of information from her all this time. So what was she? Was she really nothing but a plaything for Syaoran during his stay in Seven while he was escaping from the law? If he really had any sincere feelings for her, he would have told her. Clearly, all she had been good for was to help Syaoran release tension… or something. Either way, she was completely fooled into believing he cared for her.

Sakura blinked and was surprised to see tears already streaming down her face as she continued to stare at herself through the mirror.

She felt incredibly betrayed but most of all she felt incredibly stupid. She had let her relationship with Syaoran get so far as to have sex with him without knowing full well who he really was. Who would do that? She was nothing but a common slut at that point. She flirted around and actually slept with a man she barely knew.

This wasn't her only pressing problem either. The conversation she overheard earlier between him and Eriol. She supposed she was lucky she caught them while they were in the middle of talking about her. They mentioned something about taking her to a secure location… whatever that meant. Secure for what? Secure from being found that she was with them? From the authorities? What does that mean? Were they going to kill her or get rid of her somehow? They even mentioned taking her to an airport… where were they planning on taking her?!

Even more tears escaped her eyes now, Sakura's hands flew over her mouth as she gasped and sobbed even harder.

Her fear of her current situation was so pronounced within her, that much was true. But what bothered her the most at the moment was the fact that the pain she felt from being betrayed by Syaoran was even stronger. This only proved to her that her feelings for the man really were deeper than she had initially thought. She loved him… why else would she feel so hurt? Yes, she felt afraid but it wasn't from him, it was at the thought of what would happen to her now. But there's no denying the fact that the issue that was gripping her most right now was her relationship with Syaoran and what was to become of it now.

Sakura bit her lip hard, now feeling her own anger at herself starting to bubble. She knew that now wasn't the time to worry about her relationship with Syaoran but she still did anyway and she hated herself for it.

She had to get her priorities straight but at this point, she didn't think she could.

* * *

"Are you all right?"

Syaoran looked at her face, actually concerned now. She was acting a little strange earlier but thought her reactions and the look on her face was cute, even funny. After returning from the bathroom he couldn't help but notice that she looked even paler and even more sickly than she had before.

"I'm… fine," Sakura managed to reply in the faintest of voices.

With a face that clearly says that he wasn't convinced, Syaoran allowed himself a nod before holding out his hand towards her.

Sakura hesitated for a while before taking it.

"We're going to be riding the yacht Eriol came in," he explained in response to her questioning look. "Fan will take the other yacht to the mainland at a different port."

This made little sense to Sakura and even if it did, she still couldn't do anything about it so all she could do was nod in reply as Syaoran proceeded to lead her down the narrow pathway connecting both yachts.

As soon as her feet landed on the other yacht's deck, she was greeted by Eriol's ever smiling expression.

"Good to see you again Sakura," he greeted with a grin.

Sakura looked at him and forced a smile on her face. She didn't know how she looked like when she did so but judging from Eriol's expression which changed to that of a look of curiosity, she figured her smile came off as more of a grimace than anything.

"H-Hey Eriol," she responded with forced enthusiasm.

"Are you all right?"

Hearing this come from another person in such a short span of time made Sakura feel panicked. If she doesn't act natural anytime soon, they'll surely suspect her and possibly do something to her- though what, she didn't know.

"I-I'm fine, just a little sick. I… I don't do well with the waves," she admitted truthfully enough though half of her nausea had nothing to do with the water.

"Let's get her resting at the back and let's head out soon. The sooner we get moving, the better she'll feel," Syaoran told Eriol who nodded.

* * *

"This… is interesting," he said in his usual seedy voice as he continued to watch the feed from the small black and white screen of the monitor in front of him.

The man featured on the screen had a woman in his arms. The expression on her face was nervous but also clearly sad and the look on the man's face clearly bothered. The pair stayed unmoving and not speaking on the cushioned seat for a while until minutes later when the man pulled the woman's face to look at him before planting a rather passionate kiss on her lips.

"This is _very_ interesting," Yao said and he was smiling wider now before he turned to one of his subordinates. "Get Mister Kim on the line."

* * *

When Syaoran finally pulled back from the kiss, Sakura slowly opened her eyes and looked back into his.

Despite her conflicting feelings, there was still no denying how much she enjoyed this gorgeous man's kisses and touches. Though it effectively dissipated her pressing worries, it also made her feel even more troubled… if that made any sense.

"Sakura," he started, looking more somber and sounding just as serious now.

She didn't reply, simply looked back at him inquiringly. If she opened her mouth now, she knew she was only going to stutter or something like it.

"We should be reaching the mainland soon enough," Syaoran continued, a little frown appearing on his lips. "When we arrive, we'll have to separate."

"Separate?" she managed to echo and immediately just about every wild idea crossed her mind. What did that mean? Separate? Why? People were going to take her now? To where? To do what?

"Eriol arranged for you to return to Japan. Until then, you'll be staying somewhere with a couple of guards until your flight is scheduled to leave."

What he was telling her matched what she overheard of his conversation with Eriol earlier. So they really were planning on putting her on a plane. But to Japan? That part she didn't expect. She didn't hear Eriol mention anything about Japan either. Was Syaoran telling the truth? Was she really going to be sent home? Not only that but how was she supposed to do that? She didn't have any of her belongings and that included her passport. Were they lying then? So where were they really planning on taking her?

"Sakura?" Syaoran spoke again, effectively interrupting her thoughts that were spiraling out of control towards even more fatal scenarios.

She nodded at him jerkily.

Syaoran gave her an odd look. She looked scared out of her wits. Why? She was also not saying anything. At the very least he expected her to ask for the truth, for a reason, an explanation for everything that had happened. But she didn't look like she even wanted to know. Sure, this made things a lot easier for him but all the same he could feel the disappointment.

"That's it?" he asked calmly enough as he continued to look at her curiously. "I would have thought you would give me more of a reaction than just- he mimicked the nod she had just done.

Sakura bit her lip and finally looked away from him to look down at her clammy hands. She was glad he wasn't touching them otherwise he would surely suspect there was something wrong with her.

"I… I guess I expected it already. I mean, I knew we were going to separate eventually… I suppose…"

The dejected look on her face and the odd way she was acting finally snapped at Syaoran's senses.

He grabbed Sakura by the wrist and forcefully pulled her against him until she was left to straddle him, sitting on his lap with her legs resting on either side of him on the cushioned seat. With an arm around her waist and a hand resting at the back of her neck, he pulled her head down closer to his.

The startled expression on her face and the clear blush of her cheeks pleased him.

He pulled her down even more until his lips touched her neck.

"S-Syaoran, we can't do this _here,_ " she managed to mumble into his ear.

"Why not?" he said as his hands began to roam south until they stopped on her bare thighs before slowly crawling up beneath the hem of her white dress and slowly moving upwards again.

Sakura gasped at the feel of his fingers.

"I… your m-men… and Eriol… a-and-" her breathing hitched when one of his hands finally reached their intended target and she let her head fall on his muscular shoulder.

"They're not going to come out back here," he reassured, a little chuckle escaping his voice as he continued his ministrations between her legs.

Sakura fidgeted on his lap and moved with his fingers.

"S-Syaoran," she gasped against his ear in between moans of pleasure.

"I have to thank you Sakura," he told her rather sincerely while his fingers continued working. "You made the last few months not only bearable but even enjoyable for me."

She moaned in response against his ear, not able to think properly, rather she didn't want to. She could hear what he was saying but she opted to focus on the _other_ sort of feeling he was giving her. It was less painful this way. The tone of his voice and his choice of words… they were clearly a statement of their farewell, wasn't it?

"If I can… I'll come back for you and explain it all."

When he said this, Sakura pulled away from his shoulder to look at him in the eye.

Syaoran was surprised to see tears pooling at the corner of her eyes until a drop escaped and ran down her cheek.

"W-What did you say?"

Hearing her words, Syaoran started to understand her strange behavior. He never planned on seeing this girl again, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't know if he could even do so. He didn't want to make promises he wasn't sure he could keep. A peaceful future for him wasn't a sure thing yet and the last thing he needed was to involve other people in that vagueness.

When he admitted to coming back for her just now… it was only said out of a thoughtless whim.

But now…

"I'll come back for you," he repeated and this time he felt like he was making a promise to her. Though he wasn't sure exactly _when_ he'll do this, he felt like he owed this girl that much. He'll make sure to come see her again, if only to give her a proper explanation.

Sakura looked into his eyes, searching. She wasn't sure if what he said was true or if it was something he only said to keep her calm. For all she knew, he could be just saying these pretty words to fool her further. Either way, the effect of these words was tremendous. Despite now knowing that he was a convict, she still felt incredibly _happy_ after being told that he was going to come see her again after this.

"Okay," was all the reply she could give him before she lowered herself again but this time onto his lips.

* * *

When Eriol made his reappearance at the back of the deck where his best friend and Sakura had been staying the entire time, it was to find the pair in each other's arms. Syaoran was looking into the distance and Sakura had her eyes closed, her head leaned against his neck and her legs draped over his lap.

"Syaoran."

He turned around to look at him.

"We're gonna reach port in half an hour. We'll be seeing land soon so you and Sakura better head inside. The last thing we need is for other people to see you."

* * *

"You know what to do. Be as discreet as possible. The last thing we need is to have police involved."

The men gathered before him nodded in understanding.

"I've already sent the photo of the target in the e-mail."

With that, the group of men was dismissed.

When Yao left, most of the men took out their cell phones and indeed the e-mail was already sent to them. There were no words written but only a photo was attached… a photo of a young woman with honey brown hair and emerald green eyes.

* * *

"Are you ready?"

Sakura looked up to see the huge man who was smiling kindly down at her and she nodded in reply.

"Let's get going," Chang said as he held the door that lead out to the back deck of the yacht open.

When Sakura awoke from what she thought was a short nap, the sky outside the window was already dark. She was inside one of the rooms inside and Syaoran was nowhere in sight. When she exited the room to look for him, she was only met with Chang… and nobody else. Syaoran, Eriol, Jin, Gao, and the driver to the yacht were all gone.

Chang had told her that they had left together as soon as they made port and he was given instructions by Syaoran himself to stay with Sakura until she woke up so he could take her to a "secure location" until it was time for her flight to Japan which was scheduled the next morning.

Sakura couldn't lie to herself, she felt distraught. She wasn't able to say goodbye to Syaoran or Eriol and she was actually left on her own. The only consolation she found in the situation was that at least one familiar face was left to be with her.

After her last conversation with Syaoran, she had decided to just trust him. She knew this was a stupid thing to do all things considered but he hadn't done anything to make her doubt him either… well, until now when she inadvertently found out he was really a criminal. But that aside, he had been nothing but sincere with her and that at least deserved her trust. So for now, she'll believe him.

When she and the overly large bodyguard finally disembarked the yacht, Sakura was surprised to see five more men there. They weren't any bigger than Chang in size but they looked more intimidating than him. They all wore dark suits and looked incredibly stiff with the most serious of expressions plastered on their faces.

"W-Who are they?"

"They're your escort. Mister Li left you under my watch but just in case…" his voice trailed away and he smiled at her.

This did nothing at all to reassure Sakura. If anything, this only raised even more alarm bells in her head. She had only decided to trust in Syaoran but already she wondered if that was the right decision to make.

* * *

Syaoran looked out the window, his arms crossed and a finger tapping on his arm nonstop.

Eriol finally looked away from his own window to look at the man seated next to him.

"Worried about Sakura?"

He didn't reply to this question.

Two hours had already gone by since they left the dock and Sakura. He had already received a call from Chang saying that Sakura had already woken up and that he and the men Eriol hired were going to escort her to the hotel room Eriol had reserved for her near the airport. He was supposed to call him again as soon as they finish checking in but so far no other call had come in from him.

"Shanghai is a bustling place," Eriol offered in hopes it'll calm his best friend even just a little. "They probably got caught in traffic."

"Let's hope you're right."

* * *

Sakura ran. She ran as fast as her legs and feet would let her.

"Hey! Watch it!" a man shouted when she banged her shoulder against his.

"S-Sorry!" she shouted back in Chinese. She wasn't overly fluent with the language but she knew enough conversational Chinese to understand what people were saying around her.

"There! There she is!"

When she heard this voice, she continued running, hoping she could at least outrun the men following her to at least hide somewhere. She wanted to call out for help from _anyone_ but even as she continued to run, none of the crowd of people near them seemed overly concerned that she was being chased.

 _Oh God, please help… someone… Syaoran…_ her mind raced.

She looked back behind her and was glad to see that a considerable distance was now between her and her chasers. The crowd had helped push them back. Silently rejoicing at her luck, Sakura turned her head forward again only to be met with a black van that skidded to a halt right in front of her.

Sakura shrieked in surprise and fright as she closed her eyes and raised her arms in front of her, hoping to cushion her collision against the vehicle.

But instead of hitting something firm, she instead toppled forward and felt arms grab her from the front.

She opened her eyes and was surprised to find herself pressed against a man's chest, his arms tight around her.

"Let's go!" she heard someone shout and the van door behind her slid to a close.

Sakura looked up at the man in front of her and recognized him as the one who had shot one of the men who was escorting her and Chang earlier before they were ambushed.

With her eyes wide as saucers now, she started punching her fists and kicking her feet.

"Get that woman under control!" someone seated behind them shouted.

Sakura screamed in response to this and continued to struggle. She continued to do this for a while until a wet cloth was pushed against her nose and mouth.

A few seconds later, everything turned black.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

I know this is a _very_ late update. Forgive me! I've been really busy lately with various things that I haven't had the time to do much writing... at least not for this story. The free time I have and inspiration I got for writing was spent on another story for _Skip Beat!_ which is horrible since I'm still in the middle of this one. But no worries, I'm still making progress with **Paradise** albeit a slow one.

On the bright side, this story is reaching its peak and it won't be long until it's over.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! I'll upload the next chapter as soon as I can. I won't make you guys wait as long as this chapter though, that I promise you.

'Til next time, Ja ne!

 **Raeny**


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